The Darkness' Return
by FirstFandomFangirl
Summary: Triquel to Return to the Cursed Realm. An old friend comes to the ninja for help with an old enemy, someone they had defeated long ago. It'll be easy to do it again, right? No. No it won't. Rated T for violence. Cover by Zena1421.
1. Andreea

**Exciting isn't it? Third book, finally released.**

 **As before, I will be accepting OCs! However, as before, a few rules.**

 **1\. If you've already entered an OC, please don't enter another one. If all my readers entered OCs** ** _again_** **then I would have to choose between them, and that would be upsetting... heh...  
2\. No gay/bi/pan/etc. OCs please. As previously stated, my religion is against such practices, and I would prefer not to write them. If your OC happens to be gay (or other sexualities previously listed), I will either ignore the profile, or if I like them enough, write them without any mention of their sexuality. ****¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯  
3\. Don't make them overpowered. Like, more than one elemental power or something.  
4\. Don't make them any other species than those already seen in this series or in the canon show. So, not half-cats, no steven universe gems, no trolls, etc.  
5\. Not a requirement, but, since most of this fic will take place in an alternate universe, most OCs will (should be) either evil or living in a ditch somewhere. There will be very few actually living with and helping the ninja.**

 **Well, hopefully I made everything clear. Enjoy the first chapter!**

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Chapter 1

Andreea Hikaru Kibo was the Pink Ninja.

It sucked.

Andreea fled through the dark alley, keeping a tight grip on the jar in her hand as she ducked into a side alley. Her pursuers ran past, but she breathed a sigh of relief too soon as a shout alerted her that she had been seen. Frantically, she scrambled up the wall of the alley with one hand, the other holding onto her precious cargo. Once on the rooftops, she summoned her dragon, leaving her pursuers behind. An arrow flew past her, but she batted it away with a flash of light as it tried to come back. She was home free. Unless the big cheese himself came after her, but he probably wouldn't. After all, what harm could she do with just a jar of Traveler's Tea? She glanced back, but no one was coming after her. Probably they would try to head her off at the ground.

Too bad she didn't plan to land on the ground.

Once the ocean was underneath her, Andreea let her dragon vanish, curving into a dive so she hit the water with barely a splash. Tucking the jar to her chest, she kicked her legs as hard as she could, propelling herself towards the lights shining on the bottom. Swimming under a metal wall, Andreea came up in the airlock, taking a gasp of air as she pushed her hair out of her face.

"You're back!" The brunette looked up to see Jay run into the room. "Did you get the tea?"

"I sure did." Andreea held up the jar of shimmering liquid with a grin. "Nothing's happened while I was gone?"

"Nothing. All's quiet." The blue ninja offered her a hand and she took it, letting him pull her out of the water.

"Is your gimmick ready?" The pink ninja asked, handing over the jar before squeezing the water out of her hair.

"I think so." The blue ninja nodded. "I did my best, but since I still don't know the exact specifications of the last time it happened…" Jay shrugged, absently adjusting his eyepatch."

"Well, we just have to hope. We really don't have much to lose, do we?" Andreea asked, starting off down the hallway.

"Not much." Jay agreed, following her. Pushing a heavy, black door open, the two emerged into the main room of their submerged base. Lloyd waited in a chair on one side of the room with his crutches next to him, looking up and grinning at the sight of her.

"Andreea!" He stumbled to his feet, hobbling over and letting her give him a kiss on the cheek.

"How're you feeling?" She asked.

"…okay." He glanced at his mangled foot, which was wrapped up in a cast. "Foot's not hurting any more than usual."

"Well, that's something, at least." The pink ninja sighed, then turned towards Jay's workshop, the two boys following behind her. Once they entered the room, Jay ushered Lloyd to a seat on the opposite side from which the experiment would be taking place. Before he sat down, though, he gave his girlfriend a one-armed hug.

"You better come back." He threatened. Andreea giggled.

"I'll try." After hugging him back for a moment, she let go and stepped over to Jay, who was flipping various switches and turning dials on a control panel.

"Ready/" He asked. She nodded. "Okay." He flipped a final switch, and a robot arm holding the open jar lifted it into the center of the machine. As Andreea watched, then jar was electrified, great bolts of electricity arcing through it and turning the liquid a dark purple. Still coursing with electricity, the jar was tipped, the tea falling out and creating a large portal on the floor. Only one way to see if it worked. At a nod from Jay, the brunette stepped forward, casting one final glance at Lloyd before jumping into the portal.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this, loyal fans. As always, read and review. ;0**

 **~FFF**


	2. Aid

**My mom was shocked when she heard I had gotten 7 reviews on the first chapter**

 **huehuehue**

 **Review replies:**

 **Kat: Yes you are. xD I can't wait either! :D**

 **Samantha: I mean, it's just following the same plot as the first two books, so... I guess? xD**

 **Ninjachief: That's awesome about your friend! I'm excited to see where this is going too, since I haven't entirely worked out the plot. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

 **Bob: hey! Long time no see! *noms cookie***

 **TheAmberShadow: Yeah, I thought that was clever. :3 Thank's for the OC! Were you thinking she would be an ally of the alternate ninja?**

 **Ebony: this is definitely gonna be good -3o No rush.**

 **HS1274281: ;D**

* * *

Chapter 2

It had been a very peaceful afternoon at the Garmadon Monastery.

The students had spent the morning training vigorously, and were therefore too tired to cause much trouble that afternoon. They chatted quietly amongst each other during dinner, and since there wasn't anything to cause the others to talk, the meal was almost silent. However, that quickly changed when a loud thud sounded outside, quickly followed by a feminine yelp. After a few moments of exchanging confused glances, Jay voiced the question on everyone's minds.

"What was that?"

"I'll go see." Kai pushed his chair back, standing up and leaving the room. Curious, Lloyd followed, meeting the red ninja just inside the door as he unbolted it and pushed it open. On the ground outside was a girl - a familiar one, at that. The brown-haired girl pushed herself up on her forearms, looking around the courtyard.

"Well this definitely isn't _my_ dimension." She remarked. Her voice triggered a memory, and Lloyd stepped forward with a frown.

"Andreea?" The girl's head popped up, and her face broke into a grin.

"Ha! I guess I did get the right dimension!"

"What do you mean? How'd you get back here?" The blond boy asked, running forward and offering her a hand up.

"We need help." the brunette replied, accepting his hand. "We haven't been able to make any progress in getting the Realm back from Morro, it's only gotten worse. He captured Nya, and our Lloyd lost one leg and his other is healing. We hardly have any allies left." Lloyd was silent for a few moments as he processed this.

"So you want us to help?"

"Exactly." Andreea nodded.

"But how can we get back to your dimension? For that matter, how'd you get here?"

"Our Jay recreated the accident that send me here the first time, Tomorrow's Tea plus lightning." She shrugged. "And Clouse can use the same spell as before, can't he?"

"Good point." Lloyd nodded. "Let's go tell the others."

TheDarknessReturn

"...so let me get this straight." Morro leaned back in his chair with a frown. "You want us to go back with you to your... dimension, where an evil version of me has taken over the whole universe, and defeat him and save the sixteen realms."

"Basically." Andreea shrugged. "We got close to taking him out once, but his arm overwhelmed us and they captured Nya." Lloyd couldn't help but notice Kai narrowing his eyes at this. "Like I told Lloyd, our Lloyd can barely fight anymore. He's already missing one leg and the other might be ruined as well. Since he was our only other way to kill ghosts, we're basically powerless now. Long story short, we're losing. Hence the request for help." The ninja exchanged glances.

"That's our job, isn't it?" Cole spoke up at last. "To defend the helpless and save the day?" The others nodded. "Okay, it's settled. Who's going?"

"Definitely Lloyd and I." Nya started. "We'll be able to do the most against the ghosts."

"The rest of us ninja should come too." Zane continued. "And Morro."

"I... don't know about that." The ghost said hesitantly. "I don't think the other ninja will take very well to me."

"They'll get over it." Andreea waved a hand dismissively. "We need you to be an equal match to the bad Morro. With the others' help, you should be able to take him out."

"I guess."

"If he's going, I'm going." Indigo spoke up. Morro opened his mouth to protest, but she put a hand over it.

"And Gin." Cole suggested. "Her powers are like Lloyd's, they might be able to kill ghosts."

"Garmadon should too." Kai spoke up. "He's completely invincible."

"Say what?" Andreea tilted her head in confusion.

"Long story."

"...whatever. Our Lloyd will be happy to see him." The brunette nodded at the older man. "Our Garmadon is still locked up in the Cursed Realm." Lloyd's face fell a bit at this.

"I wanna go too." Jessica spoke up.

"No." Lloyd said immediately.

"Why not?"

"Because you don't have any powers, and there's too much chance you could get hurt."

"But you heard Andreea! There's hardly any of them left! They need all the help they could get!"

"She's right." Andreea nodded. "Even if she didn't go out on missions, she could still help guard the base."

"I- you guys are ganging up on me?" Lloyd looked back and forth between them before letting out a sigh. "Fine. You can come. Anyone else?" There was silence for a moment before Bansha stepped forward.

"I could come."

"She's on your side now?" Andreea frowned. "Last I heard she was trying to kill you all."

"She's my friend." Morro sounded slightly defensive.

"Whatever." The brunette shrugged. "The more the merrier."

"Anyone else?" Lloyd asked a third time. This time, no one spoke. "Okay."

"Misako and I will stay here with the students." Sensei spoke up.

"Okay." Lloyd nodded. "I'll contact Clouse. You guys get ready."

"Define 'get ready'." Jay frowned.

"Change into a gi if you have one, grab anything you'll absolutely need." the blond boy specified before turning and leaving the room. As soon as he was a couple rooms away, he sank down in a chair, burying his face in his hands as he let out a shuddering breath. Ghost, this was all happening so fast. He didn't want to show weakness in front of the others, but... he wasn't ready to fight his best friend.

"Lloyd?" His father's voice made his head jerk up, and he turned to see the older man standing in the doorway. "What's wrong?" Lloyd opened his mouth to say 'nothing', but figured it was no good because his father would drill him until he admitted it.

"I'm... just scared to fight Morro again." he said after a moment. "From what Andreea said about the... other me, it sounds like he really hates me. Morro, I mean. I'm just... afraid he'll do something horrible to me." Lloyd shuffled his feet on the floor. "I guess that's kinda selfish of me, isn't it?"

"It's not selfish to be afraid." His father walked over and knelt next to him, putting a hand on his arm. "You can't help your fear. You're still only a boy. But you'll be fine. You have our Morro, plus two of each of the ninja, to protect you."

"If you say so." Lloyd smiled faintly.

"And me, of course."

"And you." the green ninja grinned. "Though I'll have to share you with the other Lloyd."

"I suppose so." His father chuckled. "Come on. You need to get Clouse." Lloyd nodded, taking a deep breath before standing up.

"You supervise the others, okay?" Dad nodded, turning around and heading back into the other room. Turning the other was, Lloyd headed off towards the computer room. Whether he was ready or not, he had to do this. It was his duty as the green ninja, to help the helpless and beat the bad guy.

...only problem was, he didn't know if he could.

* * *

 **I almost think that AU Lloyd probably has a better mental state than this Lloyd.**

 **Oh, and,** **in case you didn't see the edit to the OC rules I made yesterday, since this story mostly takes place in an alternate universe, OCs will either be evil, or homeless good guys. Maybe one or two will actually be an ally of the ninja. But if you want them to be in the ninja's group, you'll have to input them quickly before they meet them.**

 **~FFF**


	3. Plotting

**Congrats to me for spending all day yesterday roleplaying even though this chapter was ready to type in**

 **haha**

 **review replies:**

 **Kat: More like Morro vs Evil Morro... heh...**

 **Zena: You've infected me *look of disapproval***

 **softcactus: Thanks for the OC! One question, since it wasn't that clear... is he good or evil? Or more of a neutral party?**

 **Erio: Glad you think so! :D**

 **Ebony: Definitely gonna make her evil, I get so many good OCs and not enough bad ones. xD**

 **ninjachief: Sure! That works! Glad you're enjoying this! ^ ^**

 **Glacier: About Nico, he's... a bit OP. A poison that can kill anyone? Can teleport anywhere in the universe? Even with the "3 times a day" limitation, he's pretty powerful... as for his weapon, is it supposed to be the SAME as the mega weapon, or just a replica in appearance? 'Cause nothing is as powerful as the mega weapon, that's a weapon created from the Golden Weapons, which are far too powerful to be copied with mere titanium.**

 **TheAmberShadow: He's gonna be pretty shocked. xD**

 **KRR: Isn't dark orange... like... brown? Brown sword. :3**

 **Rosalina: I mean, yeah, I moderate them, but I don't delete them... xD**

 **Ninjagolover: Glad you liked it!**

 **Dreamcatchers: Dyana? Lloyd's sister? wait wait wait... you're the person that sent me a bunch of anon asks on tumblr once! :D Cool! A note, though, I prefer not to use sister/brother/cousin/etc of any of the main characters, 'cause that's way overdone. Gin was supposed to be Lloyd's sister originally, but her owner agreed to let me make her just a random kid instead (who eventually got adopted but hey). So is it alright if I change that?**

 **The Mayor of Ninjago City:** **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

 **Also, there's some like... weird glitch where it's posting some reviews twice. So try to avoid, like, double clicking. xD**

* * *

Chapter 3

"His castle is around here." Andreea tapped a section of the map twice, causing the screen to zoom in on the area. "Right here, where Borg Tower is here."

"Where's your base?" Jay asked. The pink ninja zoomed out again, scrolling towards Stiix and zooming in again on the ocean outside it. "Underwater, here."

"Underwater?" Kai echoed nervously. Andreea rolled her eyes.

" _Our_ Kai learned how to swim. But we do have a submarine, so you'll be fine. Cole too."

"If you say so…"

"I do say so." She smirked at him before zooming out to the view of the whole island. "The ghosts have strongholds here, here, and here." She tapped the middle of Stiix, then Jamonikai village, then in the middle of the desert. "Morro's allies live in the few miles of city around the castle, then the peasantry around the outer ring of the city. Except for the main street," She drew a finger down from the middle of the city directly south to the edge. "Which is lined with inns and shops. If Morro has to leave the city, he prefers to not have to get anywhere near his inferior subjects." Morro rolled his eyes. "And then there's the Preeminent. Somehow she communicates with Morro, though I've never seen her in the city, just floating around the countryside."

"She's a telepath." Morro spoke up. "She can probably talk to him from anywhere in the Realm."

"Huh. That explains a lot." Andreea frowned. "Well then."

"Who runs the other strongholds?" Cole asked.

"Wrayth runs the desert one, Ghoultar runs the mountains one, and Bansha the one in Stiix. Nya's held there, they use her body to deal with any threats from the sea." Kai growled under his breath. "Discouraging, isn't it? Our Kai is taking it even worse. Not to mention our Jay."

"What am I like there?" Jay asked curiously. Andreea pondered this for a moment.

"A lot like you. But more sad. And his hair is a little longer. And he has an eyepatch."

"An eyepatch?" The redhead's eyes widened. "Cool!"

"It's not just for aesthetic." The pink ninja told him. "He got sliced across the face and went blind in one eye." Jay swallowed.

"Less cool."

"Are there any others, other than you and the ninja?" Zane spoke up.

"Ronin – I assume you know him – and a couple of others that you probably don't know." Andreea ticked them off her fingers.

"Maybe we do know them. What are their names?"

"Dyana and Harry." The ninja exchanged glances before Cole shrugged.

"Never heard of them."

"That's what I thought."

"Have you… ever seen another version of me?" Indigo asked hesitantly.

"Don't think so. Though, you're a ghost, wouldn't you be on his side?" Indigo frowned.

"I don't think so. I didn't become a ghost until a little before you met us. After our Morro turned good."

"Well, then you're either dead or somewhere on the island we've never been." Andreea shrugged and turned back to the map. "Anything else you need to know?"

"How well is Morro's castle guarded?" Lloyd spoke up.

"Pretty well. There are guards posted at the entrance, then in some order through the corridors. He doesn't need _that_ much security, since he can best even the Green Ninja." Andreea shot a glance at Lloyd before continuing. "Most of the guards are on the streets, keeping order and threatening people if they step out of line. If an alarm sounded, they would come."

"So we've gotta be quick if we wanna sneak in there." The blond boy said with a frown. "You said you almost killed him once before."

"Yeah. We tried to sneak in, but we got seen and the alarm was raised." Andreea shook her head. "We almost got to him, but there were just _so many…_ "

"Then I guess we can't afford to be seen." Lloyd met Nya's eyes for a moment before turning back to Andreea. "Does Morro have a prison somewhere?"

"Underneath his castle." The brown-haired girl nodded. "Why?"

"He must have some good guys there. If we could free them, they could help us."

"Good idea." Andreea grinned. "Though… I'm not sure how we'd get them out without being caught again."

"Kill everyone in our way?" Nya suggested.

"I like the way you think." The pink ninja giggled, then sighed. "I've missed talking to you. Y'know, the other you."

"Oh." Nya stopped, not quite knowing what to say to that.

"We need all the help we can get." Andreea said, going back to the previous topic.

"Could we maybe talk to the – "peasantry", I think you called them?" Cole suggested. "See if any of them would join us?" Andreea frowned.

"Maybe. Some of them might rat us out, though, out of fear."

"Morro already- I mean, the bad Morro already knows about us, doesn't he? At least, your world's resistance." The earth ninja shrugged. "It wouldn't do us much harm.

"I guess. You're welcome to try, but I don't think you'll have much luck. People of that class have lived in fear for years, I don't think they'd dare."

"Well, like you said, there's no harm in trying." Kai agreed with Cole. "But we should try to take out Morro first. Without him, the realm will be chaos, and we can use that to take over the rest of it."

"But he'll come back." Morro pointed out. "And fairly quickly, since the Preeminent is in Ninjago."

"But he'll have lost his position of power." Kai countered. "And the Realm Crystal and the Sword of Sanctuary, if he still has them."

"He does." Andreea affirmed. "That's how he sent me here the first time."

"Right." Morro nodded. "I guess you're right. I can't help but feel like it's not going to work, though."

"We have the other ninja, Ronin, and their friends, whoever they are." Jay clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll be fine."

"I definitely hope so." Morro nodded slightly. "Speaking of which, we should save the rest of the planning for when we can do it with the rest of our allies."

"Good idea." Lloyd agreed. "Clouse should-" The doorbell rang. "-be here any second now."

"I'll get it." Jay hopped up and left the room. A moment later, Lloyd heard his and Clouse's voices and footsteps coming towards them. It was almost time.

TheDarknessReturn

Lloyd shifted nervously from one foot to the other as he watched Clouse perform the spell, watching the red-and-purple portal slowly grow in the center of the room.

"It's big enough." The sorcerer announced. "Go, quickly."

"Everyone hold hands and don't let go." Andreea ordered. "I'm the only one who knows where we're going. If we don't hold onto each other, we might get split up." The others obeyed, joining hands as Clouse held the portal open. "Ready?" At the others' nods, she stepped into the portal, pulling them all with her. As Lloyd was pulled into the expanse, he tried not to think about their destination – that might influence where they ended up – but it was impossible. What would a world ruled by Morro look like? From what Andreea had told them, nothing good. Of course, it would only be a few seconds before he could see for himself. A few moments later, he tumbled out onto the floor. After a few moments of silence, a familiar voice said,

"Well, Andreea, this wasn't exactly what I imagined when you said you'd found help."

* * *

 **who could that mysterious person be :o**

 **I'll try to post every two days at the least. :P In the meantime, all OCs have been approved except for GLACIER's and dreamcatcher's, who I'm working with at the moment. c:**

 **~FFF**


	4. Arrival

**Me: I'm gonna post at least every 2 days mmkay**

 **Me, 5 days later: *walks in sweating nervously* I can explain**

 **...mostly my explanation is that I'm lazy. Sorry ^ ^'**

 **Review replies:**

 **Kat: Hmm, maybe. xD I have some things in mind.**

 **Rosalina: Me too. :D Nope, I haven't. What's it about?**

 **The Mayor of Ninjago City: Indeed it is. xD**

 **ninjachief: You think Lloyd would be so calm at the sight of both his worst enemy and his lost father? I don't. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I don't know. xD I credit my sister Ally, she used to nitpick every mistake I made until I stopped making them. Other than that, writing just comes naturally to me. ^ ^ I started with one chapter written ahead of time, but now I have none and I'm falling behind some. :P That and I get distracted by other stuff whenever I get on the computer to type it in. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

 **Ebony: Sort of... I mean, he probably doesn't really appreciate it now. xD They never defeat the bad guy instantly, they have to lose first so it's more intresting.** **¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

 **Nicktastic: Yay! :D**

 **NinjagoMLP: Sure thing! You can either enter them in a review or in a PM :)**

 **TheAmberShadow: I mean she's so big that there isn't really much room for her in the city. xD**

 **Samantha: ;D**

 **Glacier: Okay. Thanks for clarifying.**

 **Dreamcatchers: Sure, I can make that happen. ;)**

 **Windy: xD I know how that feels. Even though I still don't really know how to use Wattpad. That's awesome! I wish I knew sign language, but I'm bad at learning languages. :P**

 **A/N toooo looongggggg**

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Chapter 4

"Well, Andreea, this wasn't exactly what I imagined when you said you'd found help." Lloyd lifted his head to find himself staring into the familiar, grey eyes of his Sensei.

"I guess not." Andreea hopped to her feet, dusting herself off. "Sensei, this is Indigo, Gin, and Jessica." She gestured to the four girls in turn. "You know the rest. Anything happen while I was gone?"

"No, nothing." Sensei replied, his eyes skimming over the group on the floor as they began to get to their feet. Abruptly, his eyes widened as they stopped on Lloyd's father. "Brother…"

"Hello." The grey-haired man smiled as he slowly got to his feet. "Not your Garmadon, I'm afraid, but it is me." After staring at him for a couple moments, Sensei stepped forward and hugged his older brother, an embrace that was quickly returned.

"Can't wait until we see the other Lloyd's reaction." Jay whispered in Lloyd's ear.

"Heh." The blond boy cracked a faint smile. "To be honest, I'm a little nervous about seeing the other me. And… seeing what Morro's done to him." Lloyd cast a glance at Morro, but the ghost apparently hadn't heard him, since he was watching Wu and not paying attention.

"It is good to see you." Sensei said at last, pulling away. "And you, Morro."

"Me?" the wind master asked in surprise. "But… here I'm evil."

"Exactly." The bearded man nodded. "I've missed you as my student. I would give anything to bring this world's version of you back to the light, but…" Sensei bowed his head slightly. "I fear he is beyond saving." He was silent for a moment before raising his head again. "Come, you should meet the others." Andreea took the lead, heading towards the exit of the room, which, upon further inspection, appeared to be some kind of workshop or laboratory. Pushing through the door, Andreea held it open to let them file through. Lloyd, who had been jostled to the front of the group, entered first, and therefore got the first look at… himself.

Lloyd almost stopped in his tracks at the sight of the teen sitting across the room from him, who looked just – if not more – as surprised as he was. The other Lloyd didn't look _exactly_ like him – his hair was a little shorter, and his clothes were different, not to mention the metal leg – but his face was the same. Stepping out of the way of the door, Lloyd glanced at the other occupants of the room. Kai, Cole, and Zane. The latter two looks mostly the same, it was going to be hard to tell them apart. Kai, however, looked pretty different. His hair was more… limp? And he looked sad. That must be because of Nya. The four other ninja stared at him for a few moments before turning their attention to the others entering the room. After a moment, the other Lloyd's eyes widened and he shot to his feet.

"Dad!" he exclaimed. In the middle of the group, Garmadon looked up at him with a smile.

"Hello." The other Lloyd looked like he wanted to dash towards him, but his casted foot prevented it. Instead, he balanced himself on his crutches, picking his way across the room as Garmadon pushed his way out of the group, meeting the blond boy halfway and letting him wrap his arms around him tight.

"Dad…" he grinned, burying his face in the older man's shoulder as Garmadon hugged him back. "I mean… I know you're not _my_ dad." The other Lloyd said, pulling away slightly so his voice wasn't muffled. "But I've still really missed you."

"Wait, we're allowed to hug alternate versions of our loved ones?" The other Kai raised an eyebrow. "Count me in!" Jumping to his feet, he ran across the room, tackling her in a hug that she gladly returned. "I've missed you, lil' sis." He mumbled. Nya just smiled.

"I guess we're going to need a couple introductions." The other Cole said, glancing at the girls. Lloyd nodded.

"This is Indigo, Jessica, and Gin." He named them, gesturing to each one in turn. "Indigo and Gin are elemental masters, and Jessica is a gymnast. And you all know Morro." The green ninja gestured to the wind master, who lowered his eyes to the floor as an uncomfortable silence descended over the room. "He's nothing like he is here, I can assure you." Lloyd added after a moment.

"He's right." Andreea spoke. "This one's a good guy."

"If you say so." The other Lloyd said at last. "Bansha too?" The pink ninja nodded. "Alright. There are gonna have to be some introductions on our end too. Jay?" He raised his voice on the last word.

"Why didn't you just have them here to meet us in the first place?" Cole asked.

"They're a bit… rash." The other Lloyd ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't want them attacking any of you, especially Morro." Morro seemed to relax a bit at this. A moment later, the door on the other side of the room opened, and Jay marched through, followed by a teenage boy and a young woman. The blue ninja's eyes – er, eye – instantly locked on Nya, while the two others narrowed their eyes at Morro. "Everyone, this is Dyana and Harry." The other Lloyd gestured to them. "Dyana controls darkness, and Harry is a telepath." Harry nodded at them, while Dyana just glanced at them without acknowledgement. Jay whispered something to them, and the woman rolled her eyes, but nodded along with the boy.

"Well, if we're finished getting introduced…" Cole said, pulling a remote out of his pocket and pressing a button that lit up the screen on the far wall. "Let's get to taking back our realm."

* * *

 **Well this'll be fun**

 **~FFF**


	5. Settled

**So uh**

 **I think the reason I was having so much trouble writing was because I was writing on bigger pages?**

 **which sounds odd but it took longer to finish a page and I wasn't motivated by getting one done and got bored and gave up so I didn't end up writing**

 **but I got some smaller pages so I should have an easier time writing now *thumbs up***

 **I do have spanish homework I have to get finished in the next hour before I have to leave for spanish so NO REVIEW REPLIES SORRY ^ ^'**

* * *

Chapter 5

"From what Andreea's told us, Morro's castle should be pretty easy to infiltrate." Jay gestured to the intimidating castle shown on the middle of the screen "Is that accurate?" He asked, glancing at that dimension's ninja. The other Kai shrugged.

"I mean, last time we were obviously seen and caught, so it wasn't _that_ easy."

"Did you trip an alarm or were you spotted by a patrol?" Lloyd asked.

"Patrol. They raised the alarm before we could get rid of them." Kai replied. Lloyd frowned.

"Dyana, your powers are darkness, right?" He asked, turning to the young woman. She nodded. "Could you use them to make us at least mostly invisible?" She frowned for a moment.

"I can try." She stepped into a corner and pulled the shadows up around her, making the corner appear overly dark but otherwise not suspicious.

"Then we should be able to make our way through the castle undetected." Jay said. "Once we get to the throne room, I doubt Morro will go down without a fight, but with Morro and- I mean our Morro – and Lloyd and Nya, we should be able to take him down. The rest of us will be fighting the other ghosts."

"But our powers don't affect ghosts." The other Kai said with a frown.

"Mine do." Jay pointed his finger at Cole and a spark of lightning jumped from the tip to Cole's arm, causing the ghost to yelp and jump back. "And we can distract them if nothing else. Do you guys have any deepstone?" The other Lloyd nodded from where he sat beside Garmadon.

"We've got some here, and Ronin's got a bunch."

"Speaking of which, where is Ronin?" Zane spoke up. "Andreea said he was here, but I haven't seen him."

"He doesn't stay in the base." The other Zane explained. "He wanders around the Realm, stealing from the rich and giving – well, selling at a small price – to the needy. He occasionally helps us, but I think he believes we're a lost cause. We haven't heard from him in several weeks."

"Oh."

"Does time pass at the same rate here?" Lloyd asked unexpectedly. "As in our home dimension?" The other Lloyd frowned.

"Not sure. What's an event that's the same for both of us?"

"Well… for us, Morro summoned the Preeminent about a year and a half ago." Lloyd glanced at the ghost, who averted his gaze.

"It's only been a little over a year for us." The other Lloyd replied. "So… time goes faster here. Or, wait, something changed before that. Our Morro changed destiny."

"Then… um, my dad was banished about two years ago?"

"Same here." The other Lloyd glanced at Garmadon, then nodded. "I guess there's no difference."

"Good." It would be weird to go back and have more or less time have gone past at home. This alone was already confusing enough.

"Morro, do you think you can beat the other Morro in a fair fight?" The other Cole asked. Morro frowned slightly.

"I don't think so. I might be able to match him, at least, but since he has the Sword of Sanctuary, it won't be a fair fight."

"Good point." The other Cole nodded thoughtfully. "Lloyd, you're staying behind, right?"

"What?" Lloyd frowned. "No I'm not."

"Not you. I meant our Lloyd." The ghost shook his head. "We really need to find some way to tell us apart."

"Well, there's a very simple solution." Jay spoke up. "We just call everyone who one dimension #1 and everyone from the other #1. For example," He gestured to Lloyd. "Lloyd 1," He gestured to the other. "Lloyd 2."

"Hold it." The other Jay frowned. "Why are _we_ #2? It's _our_ dimension, we were here first."

"Because it was _my_ idea." The first Jay folded his arms. "And besides, do you really wanna call the evil Morro '#1'?"

"Well it's easier to tell _them_ apart." The scarred blue ninja shot back. "We can just call them good Morro and bad Morro. Or, for short, like… Gorro and Borro." The other Lloyd let out a snort of laughter as Morro took an offended step back.

"That is _not_ my name."

"Aw, don't be such a killjoy." The other Jay snickered until Indigo kicked him in the shin. "Ow!"

"Technically, Jay's right." The other Zane started. "It is-"

"Which Jay?" Kai interrupted. The nindroid sighed.

"Our Jay."

"But which Zane are you?"

"Can you really not tell us apart?" Their Zane asked in annoyance. "That's the one native to this dimension, I'm from the other one."

"Indeed." The other Zane nodded. "Like I was saying, our Jay is correct. It is our dimension."

"But it was my idea!" Their Jay protested.

"But it's our Realm!" The other Jay shot back.

"Quiet!" Sensei Wu spoke up loudly. "I'll settle this." He gestured to the other Jay. "Group A-2." He gestured to their Jay. "Group 1-B." The two Jays stared at each other for a moment before Jay 1 nodded.

"I guess that's fair."

"Good. Now that you are agreed, let us get back to making our plan of attack. Does anyone have anything to add?"

"I think we've covered everything." Cole 2 glanced around the room and was met by a couple of nods. "Great. So when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow evening?" Kai 1 suggested. "That gives us time to get ready."

"How exactly do we get in and out of this place?" Gin spoke up.

"Submarine." Andreea replied. "Brings us up to underneath the main docks. There are lower decks there that aren't patrolled."

"Mmm." Lloyd's sister nodded. "And it shouldn't be hard to get to Morro's castle undetected?"

"Hopefully not. Once we get to the city, we'll cut through some back ways, the ghosts invisible and the rest of us cloaked by Dyana's shadows." Andreea traced a path from the edge of the city to the middle.

"How will we get from Stiix to the city?" Jay 1 asked.

"We walk. It'll be about 24 hours' journey."

"So we'll get there the day after tomorrow." Kai 1 calculated. "Who's staying behind?"

"Lloyd… er, A-2 and I." Garmadon started. "Wu?"

"I as well."

"Jessica, you should stay behind too." Lloyd said, turning to his girlfriend. She opened her mouth to protest, but he kept going. "The only reason I let you come was because you said you could stay behind. Do you want us to send you home?" She was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"Fine. Though it's not like I have a choice."

"Thank you." He kissed her cheek, eliciting some surprised murmurs from the #2 ninja. Lloyd 2 looked especially surprised, though less so once Dad whispered something in his ear. "Anyone else?" Lloyd asked. No answer. "Okay, then we're settled. We leave tomorrow night. Where did you say we could find some Deepstone?"

* * *

 **hmm**

 **if this attack succeeds**

 **then they will have won**

 **and the book will be over**

 **...**

 **that would be a short book**

 **and when do I ever write short books?**

 **:^)**

 **~FFF**

 **P.S. A friend of mine started a writing site called City of Refuge (** **cityofrefuge . jcink . net), where you can roleplay and talk with other authors! It's really cool but it doesn't have many members, please check it out if you have a chance!**


	6. Journey

**eyy 2 chapters in a row *finger guns***

 **Review replies (from both previous chapters):**

 **Ebony: Re: ground rules: I'm gonna say at least most of those will remain intact :) Re: Successful first attack: ...you might have somethin' there.**

 **The Mayor of Ninjago City: Things never go smoothly. :)**

 **NinjagoMLP: Heck. That makes the second OC I've gotten that has the element of illusions. xDD And since I've already implemented her into the plot... got any ideas for an illusion creator that isn't an elemental master? If not, I could ask the other one's owner about them being related... lol**

 **ninjachief: Yes, Ally is a good sister. Cranky sometimes, but good. xD I can give you some critiques if you want, if I remember... ^ ^' Fairly soon. Maybe 10 chapters? Dunno how long they're gonna be impriso- whoops.**

 **RosalineWisteria: ...intresting. I'm really not into horror games, so...**

 **TheAmberShadow: Yeah I agree. Hopefully it'll give them hope enough to survive the battles to come.**

 **Glacier: Good to hear. ;P Yeah, it'll hopefully be around 50 chapters like the other two.**

 **Samantha: Yeah not really. Ayyy that's exciting! I'm working on learning how to drive, and it's harrrdddd. That's awesome that you got it! And about my friend's site, I'm not sure. xD I think it's just like a safe place for authors to hang out?**

 **Windy: Yeah, I read a ton. Let me think. I'd recommend the Mistborn trilogy, it's a sort of dystopian/fantasy series about... nevermind, it's too complicated to explain. But it's really good. xD If you like romance, though, (which I'm pretty sure you do) a woman named Melanie Dickerson writes medieval fantasy novels with Christian themes based on fairy tales, and another named Tamara Leigh writes similar stories. I've really enjoyed all of both their stories. A warning, though, Tamara Leigh used to write more mature rated novels, with like smut and stuff, so don't accidently get any of those. ^ ^'**

 **Dreamcatchers: Glad you like ;P**

 **Guest: ...hmm. Interesting. Still works tho. Thanks for letting me know.**

 **Nicktastic: Ahh thank you! :D**

 **And for those who were confused about which group is which - the main ninja, the ones who I wrote about in the last 2 books, are group 1-B, and the ones from the evil Morro dimension are group A-2.**

 **I swear writing the author's note takes longer than writing the chapter**

 **420 WORD A/N W H Y**

* * *

Chapter 6

Morro trudged along through the sand, hands on the straps of his backpack as he stared at the feet of the person in front of him. Indigo was next to him, about a foot back but keeping pace with him. He didn't like it here. He knew he was doing the right thing coming, that they needed him to beat the other him, but… he couldn't shake the guilt that settled on him every time he registered the others' stares. And they were always staring. Every time he spoke, four or five sets of eyes would narrow in his direction. If he made a sudden move, the same reaction would commence, sometimes accompanied by a shout or a threat. It was clear he wasn't wanted. And Lloyd – his Lloyd -, he seemed… distant. Especially so around him. Because of the evil him, no doubt. His feelings towards him hadn't changed… had they?

The others' hostility wasn't the only thing on his mind. He had fought with Indigo. He wanted her to stay behind with the others, but she refused, insisting that with her powers she could help. She won, but now she refused to talk to him. He wanted to apologize, but… he didn't think she'd accept it.

"Why didn't you wanna let me come?" He looked up at her whispered voice, turning to see her frowning at him as she sped up to walk beside him.

"I don't want you hurt." He whispered back.

"Don't you think I can take care of myself?"

"Against – well, me and an army of ghosts? A battle you're willingly throwing yourself into?"

"I'm not _throwing myself into_ anything. You know perfectly well that I can fight." She stomped her foot in the sand. "And since I'm one of the only ones here that's a ghost, you need me!"

"But I won't be able to protect you!"

"Maybe I don't need protection!"

"But you _do!_ "

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean-"

"I didn't say that!" He interrupted. "Even I would be overwhelmed by an army and another version of myself!"

"But I have the rest of the ninja! I'm not fighting by myself!"

"Will you both be quiet?" A tired voice interrupted their whispered argument, and they looked up to see Kai 1 glaring back at them. "We can all hear you. She's coming. Get over it." They were both silent for a few moments before Morro whispered,

"I'm sorry."

"Me too." She whispered back. "I won't get hurt. I promise."

"But what if we fail? What if you're captured?" he asked, dropping back a bit so they wouldn't bother the others.

"He won't hurt me." She fell back next to him. "If he's anything like you, he'll leave me alone." Morro frowned.

"I... really don't think he's like me at all."

"Even so, I'm 4'8 and a girl. I don't think he'll see me as much of a threat."

"He should." Morro smirked. Indigo tilted her head.

"Why? Didn't you say earlier that even you wouldn't be able to beat him?"

"You can beat him in an argument." He said, grinning as she burst out laughing.

"Does that mean you're okay with me coming?" She asked.

"I guess. The others will be fighting alongside you, they'll have your back. At least, they'd better!" He raised his voice to get the attention of the others, looking up and meeting each of their eyes with a cold stare as they looked back at him. Especially the #2 ninja.

"Better what?" Jay 1 asked.

"Not let Indigo get hurt." Morro nodded towards his girlfriend.

"She's a ghost." Kai 2 said flatly. "How hurt could she get?"

"Very, seeing as she's going up against an army of ghosts just like her." The wind master snapped. "I can tell you dislike me, but don't take it out on her!"

"If she's-" Kai 2 started, but the other Kai clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Just stop." He ordered. Lowering his voice, Kai 1 said something else, but the ghost boy couldn't make it out. Morro huffed, slowing down a bit so he fell even farther behind the others.

"They're just stupid." Indigo said, slowing down to walk alongside him. The ghost boy shook his head.

"They have a reason to hate me. But you… just because you're my girlfriend doesn't mean you're as bad as I am."

"Wait, she's your _what_?" Jay 2 yelled back at them. They really hadn't noticed?

"His girlfriend," Indigo yelled back. "And do you really think I would date him if he was evil like he is here?" She picked up a handful of sand and flung it in his direction. It fell apart in midair.

"Hard to say." Jay 2 raised his remaining eyebrow. "I don't know what you're like."

"Well, here's a better example." Indigo sped up, catching up so she didn't have to yell. "Do you really think he would be the best friend of _Lloyd_ , the one he captured and tortured, if he was still evil like he is here?" All eyes turned to Lloyd, who shrugged.

"She's not wrong. He is my best friend."

"…I guess not." Jay 2 admitted. "Whatever." Lloyd glanced back at Morro, then stopped walking, letting the others pass him before starting again when Morro caught up.

"Are they bothering you?" He asked.

"A bit." Morro nodded slightly. Lloyd reached up and put an arm around his shoulders.

"They're just suspicious of you 'cause of what their Morro has done. And that has nothing to do with you."

"But it does!" The wind master protested. "I did do that stuff! Some of it, at least!"

"But then you make things right. You changed. You made up for what you did." Lloyd smiled. "You couldn't undo what you did, but you did the next best thing." Morro frowned for a moment.

"I… guess you're right."

"Of course I am. I'm the green ninja." Lloyd patted his shoulder before letting go of him and moving forward again. "C'mon. The sooner the others get used to you, the better." The ghost nodded slightly, lowering his gaze to the sand as he sped up to catch up with the others. "Hey." Lloyd put a finger underneath his chin and tilted it up, stopping him in his tracks. "Stop looking at the ground, okay? If they can see you're afraid of them, they'll use that to control you. You have to be firm with them."

"That's easier for you. They don't hate you." Morro mumbled.

"They don't hate you either." Lloyd grabbed his hand and pulled him forwards. "Keep your eyes on me, or Indigo, or the horizon. Don't look at the #2 ninja, don't look at the ground. They won't be so hard on you, trust me." Hesitantly, Morro nodded.

"Alright, I'll try.

"Good." Lloyd kept tugging him forward until they were in the center of the group, Indigo coming up and taking his free hand. He could feel other ninja's stares on the back of his head, but he forced himself to not slump down and stare at the ground, focusing on the back of Lloyd's head in front of him and watching his hair move in the slight breeze.

"Well would you look at that." Andreea remarked after a few minutes, nodding at the lightening horizon. "Sun's coming up. Just a warning, the next 12 hours or so are gonna be pretty hot."

"Joy." Lloyd said sarcastically. "Morro, you sure are lucky you're a ghost."

"I suppose so." Even so, the next day would probably be difficult for him as well. He wasn't looking forward to it.

TheDarknessReturn

He was right. It wasn't fun.

Thirteen hours of walking later, the sun had set again, and the city had come into view. Except for the ghosts, the entire party was sweaty and tired, and everyone was ready for a break. In a small forest about ten miles from the city, Andreea called them to a halt.

"It occurred to me that it would be a really bad idea to try to take on Morro when we're all so tired like this, so we're going to rest until tomorrow evening." She announced. "Since there's really no harm in waiting another day." Gratefully, Lloyd plopped down on the ground, the others following suit as Morro sat down next to him.

"I know you're a ghost, but are you tired too?" The green ninja asked. Morro nodded.

"Not sleeping for 24 hours can do that to you." Lloyd chuckled breathlessly.

"Make sense." He lay down in the dirt, resting his head on his arm like a pillow Morro lay down behind him, wrapping his arms around Lloyd's chest and pulling him up against him. Lloyd made a little noise of surprise, but didn't protest, just repositioned his arm and closed his eyes. Morro did the same, and it wasn't long before the exhausted pair drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **my otp is only allowed to fight for half (1/2) a page**

 **also my sons someone should draw this**

 **...**

 **oh wait I already did**

 **~FFF**


	7. Strike One

**April fooooooools**

 **those of you who didn't get this, hahahahahahha**

 **...anyway**

 **yesterday I managed to come down with some horrible illness so I feel rotten. so no review replies. But to answer the question "what language is this", it's english finnish english french english hawaiian swedish**

 **I love google translate**

 **anyway enjoy this chapter which will probably make you more mad than yesterday's update**

 **:)**

* * *

Chapter 7

Indigo flitted through the shadows of the alleys, hiding in the shifting darkness as she moved through the alleys. This place felt so familiar. So normal. Less so when she looked up at the castle looming in front of them, but… she knew these alleys. She knew them well. This was where she used to live… was it only a couple years ago?

After getting about 18 hours sleep, the party had waited for nightfall before entering the city, where they had begun making their way through the back alleys. They were getting close, but Indigo had gotten distracted and had lost track of the others. Now she was lost. Hopefully she would run into them eventually. Just as she was starting to get worried, she heard her name and a hand grabbed her arm.

"Indigo." She jumped, whirling around to see Morro behind her. "Don't get lost, okay?" She tilted her head, letting herself become visible.

"How did you find me? I'm invisible."

"You're making too much noise." He smiled slightly. "Come on, we need to catch up with the others." He tugged her forwards, and she followed. "Hurry, we're almost there."

"Okay." She followed his lead, moving through the passages until they found the rest of the group. Once they were in sight, she tried to let go of his hand, but he only tightened his grip.

"Don't let go of my hand, okay?" He said, turning invisible again. "I don't want to lose you."

"Okay." After a few minutes, they arrived at the wall that surrounded the courtyard of the castle.

"Okay, Nya," Andreea started, "I want you to climb this wall and wipe out all the ghosts you can see. Kill them all. Got it?" The water ninja nodded, and started to climb the wall. Dyana's shadows followed her movements, hiding her from anyone nearby looking on. Once she got near the top, she vaulted over the remaining wall, and disappeared into the courtyard. Indigo heard sounds of water, and a couple shouts, then silence. After a few moments, Nya called softly,

"All clear!" The rest of the group began scaling the wall, except the ghosts, who walked right through it. Once they were all on the other side, Andreea pointed to a small door on the outside wall.

"Through there." They obeyed, heading through the door and into the dark palace.

TheDarknessReturn

Three patrols. That's how many Nya had killed so far.

The castle didn't seem to be that dangerous so far. The patrols had died before they have even seen them, and no shouts or alarms alerted them that they had been spotted. Still, Morro couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. He tried to ignore it, figuring that it was just the stares of the other ninja that sent a prickle up his spine. Before he knew it, they had arrived at the throne room. He tuned out Andreea as she said something to Cole, facing Indigo instead.

"Be careful, okay?" He said, letting himself turn visible. She nodded, doing the same.

"You too."

"I will." Closing his eyes for a moment, he leaned down and kissed her. She kissed him back until he pulled away, then glared at Jay 2 as the blue ninja made a gagging sound.

"He's in his throne. And he's alone." Cole appeared in the midst of them, glancing around to make sure they were paying attention. "I'm gonna knock the door down. Lloyd, get ready to shoot him." The blond boy nodded. "Everyone ready?" Murmurs of affirmation. "Alright." Cole threw his arm out, and there was a crash as the door fell forward and slammed to the ground. Instantly, an orb of green energy flew towards the throne.

Which was empty.

"I must say, I expected you all a long time ago." Morro's head snapped up at the voice to see the other Morro sitting in midair, his legs crossed as he rested his chin on his hand. "Well – some of you." The ghost boy could only stare blankly at his double. He looked the same, but… different. His hair was more wild, and he wire a loose shirt and pants with a common rope tied around his waist. The only thing that signified his status was the cape he wore… and the crown on his head. "Didn't I capture you already?" He peered at Nya, who shot a stream of water at him that he easily deflected. "Never mind. I'll learn what this is all about once I capture and torture you all. Guards!" Suddenly, ghosts flooded in through the walls, hundreds of them. Morro backed up slightly, pulling Indigo closer to him.

"Nya, Lloyd, Morro! Take care of him!" Andreea yelled, pointing at the airborne king. "We'll deal with the rest!" Indigo let go of his hand, vanishing into the fray as the ghosts began to attack. Swallowing his fear, Morro jumped into the air, sending a gust of wind at his enemy that sent him spiraling backwards. Almost instantly, though, he recovered, shooting towards him with the Sword of Sanctuary clutched in one hand. He didn't have to beat him, Morro reminded himself as he dodged a swipe from the sword and sent him into the wall with a gust of wind. He just needed to keep him occupied long enough for Nya or Lloyd to kill him. That's all.

Morro and his double fought in the air while the battle raged below, moving and blocking each other's' attacks with ease. Nya and Lloyd appeared to be helping with the battle for the most part, though occasionally they would take a shot at the evil Morro. Strangely enough, he didn't seem to be using the sword at all. Was he so proud that he thought he didn't need it? If so, maybe he could beat him after all. It was time to go on the offensive. Instead of absorbing the evil Morro's attack with a gust of his own, Morro ducked underneath it and pushed his opponent straight down, towards the fight below.

"Nya, now!" He shouted as the evil Morro spiraled in the air, fighting to regain his balance. The water ninja spun around, shooting water straight at the vulnerable ghost. There was no way he could dodge that in time. Morro's heart leapt as the projectile struck home, causing the evil Morro to…

…not die?!

"What?" Lloyd's shocked exclamation echoed through the room as Morro 2 began to laugh, almost hysterically. Morro just stared. No, that's impossible! He couldn't be invincible!

"Boo." A voice hissed in his ear as hands clamped over his wrists. He jerked away, but he couldn't pull free of the iron grip. Suddenly, the wind holding him up stopped, and he was slammed into the ground, his arms yanked up as a foot was placed in the center of his back.

"Something's wrong!" Andreea's shout rose above the growing chaos. "Everyone, get out!"

"Dyana!" A panicked shout followed Andreea's order – that boy, Harry. Morro fought whoever was holding him, but they yanked his arms back until he cried out from the pain, forcing him to stop. A loud crash, and more shouting, that this time he couldn't make out. A high-pitched scream… Indigo? He wished he could move, at least to see what was going on, but his face was pressed to the ground facing in the opposite direction of whatever was happening, and every time he tried to move the person holding him would wrench his arms farther back. Since he'd rather get out of here with both arms intact, he gave up on fighting. Finally, the chaos stopped. Slowly, his captor released his arms, letting them fall back to his sides.

"Get up." His voice ordered. Was he talking to him? The foot lifted from his back, then kicked him in the side, causing him to grunt in pain. "I said get up!" His double snapped. Slowly, Morro obeyed, getting to his feet with aching arms and looking around the room. There was a huge hole in the ceiling with a pile of rubble beneath it – no doubt something the others had used to escape. That is, most of the others. Indigo stood about ten feet from him, held by each arm by a pair of ghosts. He felt a pang off fear at the sight of her – out of all of them, why did she have to be the one captured?! A hand grabbed him by the shoulder and forcefully turned him around, and he found himself staring into the eyes of his double. The other him smirked slightly, stepping back and walking in a circle around him. Examining him. After going around him once, he stopped in front of him again, staring at his face for a couple seconds before saying,

"You're pathetic." Drawing his fist back, the evil Morro punched him in the face, sending him crashing backwards to the ground as stars flashed in front of his eyes. He heard Indigo cry out as the other him chuckled, snapping his fingers as he stepped back. "Take him to the dungeon." He ordered as Morro struggled to sit up, his fingers brushing his swollen cheek. "We'll interrogate him later. As for the girl, leave her up here. I have a feeling we'll get answers more easily out of her."

"No!" Morro began to struggle again as she guards grabbed him, hauling him to his feet. "Don't you dare touch her!"

"Why Morro, don't you trust me?" the ghost king put a hand to his mouth in mock surprise. "After all, if you can't trust yourself, who can you trust?"

"You're not me." Morro hissed. "You're a self-obsessed idiot playing dress-up with a crown and-" he was cut off by a fist slamming into his face again.

"I am not an idiot!" He snapped as Morro blinked away stars. "And I'm not going to hurt her. I'm just going to… persuade her to tell me what she knows."

"You wanna bet?!" Indigo yelled indignantly. The other him ignored her.

"Just stash him in a cell." Morro 2 instructed his guards, flexing his hand. "I'll take care of the girl." The last thing he saw before being dragged through a doorway was the guards shoving Indigo forward, straight into the evil Morro's waiting arms.

* * *

 **:)**

 **~FFF**


	8. Uncertainty

**Well I'm finally recovering from that stupid illness**

 **The reason I haven't been posting is because I was literally too sick to work on it. ^ ^'' sorry guys.  
**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: Yeah. Something's up with that guy...**

 **Zena: She'll probably be fine. :)**

 **ninjachief: :DD thanks! Yes. You'll hate him even more after this chapter. And EVEN MORE after the next chapter.**

 **Kat: Evil Morro is a piece of crap. Just wait, you'll see.**

 **The Mayor of Ninjago City: I'll say.**

 **Nicktastic: Oh yeah, I remember that. xDD**

 **Guest: Yeah, exactly.**

 **Leb: Oh. I was wondering where you went. Good to see you're not dead or something :^)**

 **TheAmberShadow: No spoiler :)**

 **Samantha: ...hahaha**

 **Draconis: Thanks! :D**

* * *

Chapter 8

"Get your hands off me!" Indigo shoved the evil Morro away from her, growling as the ghost king laughed.

"What, no kiss for your boyfriend?" He raised his hands in an inviting gesture.

"You're NOT my boyfriend!" She hissed, taking a swing at him. He stepped out of the way easily, letting her stumble forwards before wrapping his arms around her from behind, lifting her up and pinning her against his chest as her legs flailed in the air. "Let me go!" She squealed.

"Not until you behave." His voice was teasing. Playful. He wasn't taking her seriously in the least. "Guards, back to your duties. I'll take care of her." The other guards nodded, and began to leave as the wind master turned, carrying the squirming girl towards his throne. Before they got there, Indigo managed to land a kick on his knee, making him stumble and drop her. Instantly, she sprinted towards the wall, but a gust of wind yanked her back into the evil Morro's grasp. "Ah-ah-ah, we're not done here."

"Shut your face." Indigo swung at him again, but he just dodged it again.

"I'm sure your boyfriend will be very disappointed when I tell him you were hitting on me." He said mildly.

"I'm not hitting on you, I'm just hitting you!" She swung at him one more time, and this time he caught her fist, his hand sliding down to her wrist before he began dragging her towards the throne. She struggled, but he was too strong for her.

"You're feisty." He remarked as he pulled her along with ease. "I like that in a woman."

"Okay, first of all, ew. Second of all, I'm not feisty, I'm vicious. Get it right." He ignored her. When they reached the throne, he sat down on it, pulling her into the seat next to him. She tried to scramble off, but an arm around her waist prevented it. Huffing angrily, she fixed him with the nastiest glare she could muster. "What do you want?"

"Information, my dear."

"Don't call me-" she started, but he cut her off.

"You must know where the ninja are hiding. Know how to get to it. What must I do to get this from you? Normally I would beat it out of you, but for you, I might be able to grant you a favor…" He smiled, raising an eyebrow. Indigo blinked.

"Well, first, let me go. And let my Morro go. And get back in your own Realm and leave Ninjago alone." His smile vanished.

"Don't play dumb with me. You know why I need the information."

"Exactly why I won't give it to you."

"Come on," The evil Morro lifted both hands and gestured towards the large window behind the throne. "Look out there. See all that? I own it all. I own everything in the universe. Any of it could be yours if you just tell me what I want to know…"

"You don't own me." She said defiantly.

"Oh, but I do." His arm coiled around her waist again, this time tighter than before. "Everything belongs to me, including you. And I can do whatever I want with you." His eyes glinted dangerously and she leaned away from him.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I won't betray the others."

"Your loss. But I have other methods of extracting information. And I don't think you'll like them as much." Before she had a chance to try to figure out what he meant, he leaned down and forcefully pressed his lips against hers. She tried to pull away, but he grabbed her chin with his free hand and held her in place. Jerk. Maybe she could trick him into letting his guard down and then find Morro. When he pulled away, she fixed a slightly-dazed look on her face, staring up at him with her mouth open slightly. He chuckled. "That's better." He kissed her again, and she squirmed slightly. That wasn't exactly the reaction she was going for. His eyes were closed, though, when he pulled away, he would be vulnerable for a second… This time when he pulled back, he was instantly met by a fist in the face. As he cried out, reeling backwards, Indigo slipped out of his grip and ran towards the doorway Morro had been dragged through earlier. Before she could reach it, though, the evil Morro caught her with a gust of wind, throwing her to the ground in front of his throne. "How dare you strike me?!" He raged.

"You were forcing yourself on me!" She snapped back. "Kissing me isn't going to get information out of me any more than bribing me did!"

"I didn't plan to just kiss you." Standing up, he stalked towards her and grabbed her wrist, dragging her to her feet. Ignoring her pathetic attempts to escape, he dragged her over to a pole in the corner with a pair of shackles attached to it, fastening said shackles around her wrists before leaving her on the ground. "I'd advise you behave." He snapped. "Or I _will_ persuade you – with something far worse than kisses." With that, he stomped off again. Indigo swallowed, resting her forehead against the pole. She had a pretty good idea of what 'far worse than kisses' was, and she would really rather avoid that. For now, at least, she would stay quiet.

TheDarknessReturn

"We're going back for him." Lloyd B said firmly.

"Absolutely not." Lloyd shot back without missing a beat. "We're not endangering ourselves further, and definitely not for _him_."

"What do you mean 'him'?!" Lloyd B snapped. "Our Morro is nothing like yours! You know that!" It hadn't been until after the initial chaos that the ninja had realized Morro was missing – and Indigo, for that matter - but they couldn't go back to help them. Dayna had been shot, with what appeared to be a poisoned arrow. Dad and Sensei Wu were with her at the moment, trying to remove the arrow with as little damage as possible and find an antidote for the poison.

"He's still Morro! If he's all you make him out to be, he can take care of himself!"

"No he can't! The other Morro has the Sword of Sanctuary, he can't beat him! And the water didn't kill him either!" Lloyd B protested. "And even if he could, what about Indigo?!"

"She's a ghost!" Lloyd B folded his arms. "I wouldn't be surprised if she joined his side!"

"How dare you?!" Jessica snapped. "She would never do that! Do you suspect _Cole_ of jumping ship just because he's a ghost?" She gestured angrily at Cole A.

"No, because I've worked with him for forever! And why should I trust you either?" Lloyd seethed. Jessica looked momentarily stunned, then enraged, drawing her fist back to hit him. Quickly, Cole B caught her arm, pulling her back.

"Calm down. Don't get violent." He whispered, pulling her to the back of the room.

"Being a ghost doesn't make her evil." Gin spoke up. "She was killed in an accident. She's not bad." The others, including Andreea, nodded. Lloyd folded his arms.

"I don't care. We're not going after them, at least not right away. For now, we should focus on one we _know_ is in danger: Dyana." He gestured towards the door the two Sensei had vanished through. "She's our top priority for now. Discussion over." Lloyd B glared at him for a moment, hands clenched into fists at his sides, then burst into tears, fleeing from the room. The others exclaimed in surprise, then Kai B ran after him. Lloyd just stared after him. He was really upset _that much_ by Morro's capture? Why did he even like him so much?

"He owes Morro his life, you know." Dad's voice came from behind him, and he turned to see the older man walking towards him as he wiped his hands on a rag. "Ever since my son took him in, he's protected him without fail. And believe me, Lloyd needs it." Lloyd frowned.

"Really? Morro?"

"Yes." Garmadon nodded. "I owe him something as well – my freedom."

"Morro freed you?" Lloyd's brow furrowed further.

"Not directly. But he escaped the Cursed Realm after the Preeminent was defeated, heading to Ninjago City, where Lloyd found him a month later. He told Lloyd where I was, that I was alive. If not for him, my Lloyd would never have found me. I wouldn't be here now." He paused. "For that matter, you owe him something too."

"What?"

"Andreea. If the ninja had not been there when she had appeared, she most likely would have been captured and locked away by the ghosts. You might never have seen her again." Lloyd found a stab of fear at the thought of never seeing his girlfriend again, and glanced across the room at her just to assure himself that she was safe.

"I guess I do owe him." He said after a few moments. "We should get him back." Dad nodded.

"But you are right in that Dyana is our top priority."

"Speaking of which, how is she?" Lloyd noticed Harry looking up at the sound of their discussion, which was no surprise. She and him had been a team, just the two of them, before they had met up with the ninja.

"The arrow is out, and Wu is analyzing the poison in the hopes of finding a cure. We do not know yet if the poison is intended to be lethal, but if it is, it's killing her slowly. We have time to find an antidote."

"Good."

"You should apologize to my son." His father told him. "Your refusal to help Morro and Indigo upset him greatly."

"Yeah." Propping his crutches on the floor, he carefully stood up, then headed towards the doorway the other Lloyd and Kai had vanished into. He walked down the hall for a minute before he heard two sounds, quiet crying and a soft voice. He rounded a corner, then stopped at the sight of the other Lloyd and Kai B sitting against the wall, Lloyd's faced buried in Kai's shoulder as he shook with sobs. Lloyd hesitated, not sure if he wanted to disturb them, but decided to just get it over with.

"Lloyd?" He called softly. Lloyd B's head jerked up, staring at him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry. I judged Morro too harshly." He apologized. "I know he's not a bad guy. We will rescue him, but only once we know Dayna is safe. Okay?" Lloyd B sniffled, nodding as he smiled slightly.

"Th-thank you…" Lloyd nodded in response, turning and hobbling away quickly. Even though he lived with his family and friends in a world without an evil tyrant ruining his life, the other him almost seemed… more broken than he was. Could it be possible that he had gone through worse? No… he just must not have been toughened up like he had. Nothing could be worse than what had happened to him, he thought ruefully as he looked down at his prosthetic leg. Not much worse, anyway. Heading back to the main room, he put the other Lloyd out of his mind. Maybe he could help Sensei find the antidote.

* * *

 **for the record, evil Morro isn't actually attracted to Indigo in any healthy way. He's just a creep. :^)**

 **also... ik like only one of my readers plays League but THE NEW CHAMPS?:? ARE LOVE?! NEW MAIN 2k17**

 **In other news, remember that City of Refuge thing I mentioned? The creator of it goes by rideofthevalkyrjur, and posts her fics on here. They're REALLY good. Like, better than mine. In some ways. Anyway, I seriously recommend you check her out. :0**

 **~FFF**


	9. Torment

**Wow. That's gotta be a record, how much people were screaming after that last chapter. Except maybe for the time I killed Lloyd. But then again, some people didn't believe that and SOME PEOPLE celebrated it, so...**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: Yeah,.. someone might. :33**

 **MLGbillcipher: yyyeaahhhhh... I mean... her life isn't exactly 100%... at this exact moment... xDD I'm not exactly 'sensitive' to swearing, but I highly dislike it, so...**

 **ninjachief: I said _in some ways_... like that it more closely follows canon... and has better cliffhangers... and isn't cringy like my old writing... anyway. Morro 2 is a piece of crap.**

 **TheAmberShadow: Indigo is 100% done with being chained up and used as bait/a bargaining chip. I mean... each dimension has 16 Realms. It's a parallel timeline. And there are rumors that a new ninja is joining the team in season 8, + rumors that Lloyd is getting a gf, so... hard to say. Tommy Anderson did say recently that he was too young to get a girlfriend, though, so... like I said, hard to say.**

 **Zena: Of course you do.**

 **Samantha: Nahhhh. Then I'd have to change the rating and less people would read this. :)**

 **Kat: Wait... you hope Lloyd is okay? What? Who are you and what have you done with Kat?!**

 **rideofthevalkyrjur: Ayyyy, I didn't know you'd read this! :D He might die... eventually... or not...**

 **Leb: Wow. I would drink beer if it was legal. I like the taste. (don't kill yourself)**

 **Glacier: bruh**

* * *

Chapter 9

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. Pause. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. Pause. Morro tapped the rhythm of the footsteps of the guards pacing outside with one finger, counting their steps as he tried to keep his mind off his predicament. And, more importantly, Indigo's. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. Pause. This was worse than the last time they had been imprisoned. Then he could at least trust that she wouldn't be hurt. Tori was crazy, but she only wanted her as a bargaining chip. This Morro, though, he had no idea what he was capable of. No idea what he would do to her. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. Pause. Tap-tap-tap- wait. Something was different. The footsteps were coming towards his cell. He looked up as the door was opened, revealing two masked guards.

"Get up." One ordered, and he obeyed. They took ahold of his wrists and lead him out into the hallway, heading down the passage. Morro clenched his fists, trying to summon a gust of wind, but nothing happened. The dungeon must be completely lined with Vengestone. After a minute, they brought him into a room, entirely white except for the black chair in the center of the room. It was into this chair that they pushed him, strapping him in by means of cuffs on the arms and legs of the chair. With his wrists and ankles secured, he could barely move, much less fight back in the event that he was attacked. Without a word, the two guards left, closing the door behind him and leaving him in the silence. The first thing Morro did was struggle, testing the strength of his chains. Very strong. There was no way he was breaking through these. Next, he looked around the room. There were two doors, one that the guards had exited through, and one unidentified one. There was also a camera in the upper right corner of the room, a little, blinking red light signifying that it was on. He glared at it for a moment before turning back to the door in front of him and beginning to tap out a rhythm with his finger. It was about ten minutes before something happened, and he was just contemplating trying to sleep when the door opened, admitting the other version of himself before swinging shut again.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." The ghost kind said casually. "Your girlfriend made quite a fuss when she overheard my plans for you."

"Where's Indigo?!" Morro demanded, leaning forward in his chair to glare at him. "What did you do to her?!"

"Indigo? Is that her name?" Morro 2 raised an eyebrow, avoiding the question. "How quaint. A cute name for a cute girl."

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Morro hissed. "Where. Is. Indigo?!"

"In my throne room." The other him began to walk around him so he had to crane his neck to look at him. "She's fine. I only had to rough her up a little to get her chained up."

"You hurt her?!"

"I just dragged her around, chill out." The other him rolled his eyes as he walked around in front of him again, starting another lap around him. "Dating you, I'm sure she's been through much worse." Morro just scowled at him.

"What do you want with me?"

"Information." Morro 2 replied. "And since your girlfriend was very uncooperative, I decided to ask you."

"You'll get nothing out of me." Morro leaned back in his chair, staring at the ground. The other Morro shrugged.

"We'll see about that." The door was opened again and a green-clothed figure was shoved inside, collapsing at the foot of the chair. Morro's heart stopped. No. That's impossible. "Still think you're not going to tell me anything?" Morro 2 grabbed the boy's shoulder, lifting him to his knees. It was impossible, but somehow true. Lloyd – his Lloyd – sat hunched on the ground in front of him, staring up at him in silent terror. A cloth in his mouth kept him from talking, while ropes around his wrists kept them bound behind his back. Why didn't he make a sound? The evil him must have threatened him with something… Morro 2 grinned at the sight of his widening eyes, shoving Lloyd back and slamming him into the wall. "You seem like the type who cares about others more than yourself – all you 'good guys' are – so I thought I'd test your reaction against my other prisoner." The ghost king chuckled. "Seems to work well. Now…" The other him grabbed Lloyd by the collar and hauled him upright again, causing the blond boy to stiffen and flinch away. "I can do whatever I want to him, and neither of you can stop me. Or, alternately, you could tell me what I want to know. Your choice." Morro hesitated as Lloyd shook his head no, staring into his wide, frightened blue eyes…

…wait a minute.

"Lloyd's eyes are green, not blue!" Morro exclaimed, looking up at the other Morro with narrowed eyes. Morro 2 looked momentarily stunned, then let go of Lloyd's collar and folded his arms, when 'Lloyd' hit the floor, he vanished in a puff of… almost glitter.

"Well, your attention to detail is impressive." The ghost king admitted. "But I do have other tricks up my sleeve."

"Such as?" Morro tilted his head.

"Well, I'm not sure if this is what you would consider a _trick_ , per se, but… when interrogating, it's always fun to get back to the basics." The other Morro cracked his knuckles. "Torture."

TheDarknessReturn

Broken. All of them.

Morro pressed his mangled hands against the stone floor of his cell, his breathing shallow as he squeezed his eyes shut. When the other Morro had failed to trick the information out of him with that… illusion of Lloyd, he had broken each of his fingers, one by one, all the while yelling at him to give up what he knew or he would continue. At each refusal, he broke another finger. He seemed to enjoy his cries of pain. When he had no fingers left to break, the other him began hitting him, punching him in the face and stomach until he was bruised and swollen. Finally, frustrated, he had sent the guards to bring the barely-conscious ghost to his cell. They obeyed, none too gently, of course. T

o distract himself from the pain, he thought about the thing that looked like Lloyd. It looked and acted so real… except, it didn't make any sound. Could it have been some kind of hologram? That was the only explanation he could think of. Letting out a pained breath, Morro squeezed his eyes shut. He should try to split his hands, then rest. Ghosts heal quickly, if they were undisturbed his fingers would set within about a week.

Problem was, he seriously doubted they would leave him alone.

TheDarknessReturn

Morro brushed his hands off on each other as he ascended the stairs, trying to get the feeling of that pathetic excuse of a wind master off his skin. Sniveling whelp. A pity he wasn't fooled by Reena's trick, that had seemed to at least almost get him to talk. Perhaps a threat to his girlfriend's safety would persuade him, but it might be hard to get him to believe she was real after he had tried with an image of the former green ninja. As the king entered his throne room, the first thing that caught his attention was a whimper coming from the back of the room. Turning his head, he noticed Indigo hunched against the pole she was chained to, her hands pressed over her ears as she squeezed her eyes shut. Morro rolled his eyes, spotting the source of her fear leaning lazily against the side of his throne.

"Reena, stop tormenting the poor girl." He called as he approached. The illusionist glanced up, then sighed.

"Fine." Indigo shuddered, then opened her eyes cautiously, looking around for a moment before her eyes landed on him.

"You!" She exclaimed. "What did you do to Morro?!"

"Exactly what I said I would, my dear." He flashed her a smiled, which only served to infuriate her more.

"First, don't call me 'my dear'. Secondly-"

"I'll call you what I like."

" _Secondly_ , only a complete coward would beat and torture his enemy when they can't fight back. Not that anyone thought you were otherwise, but-"

"Shut up!" He snapped, wind gusting through the room and making her freeze. "Or I'll shut you up myself. Is that _clear?_ " he hissed. She nodded slightly. "Good." Turning to Reena, he said in a calmer voice, "Blue eyes? Really?"

"You expect me to have all of our enemies' eye colors memorized?" The teenager threw her hands in the air, lowering one to brush her black bangs out of her face.

"I expect you to be able to make a convincing double." He crossed his arms over his chest. "There's a reason I keep you around."

"I can make a convincing double of you." She pointed out. "That's the only reason you're not dead right now." He pondered this for a moment.

"True enough." He decided after a moment. "But still. If not for your blunder, we might know where they're hiding by now."

"So drag his girlfriend down and knock her around a bit." Reena suggested. "She's real enough."

"Yes, I thought of that, but he might not believe that."

"Huh." The dark-haired girl frowned. "Well, I'm fresh out of ideas."

"I'll think of something." Morro settled into his throne, glancing at Indigo, who quickly looked away, before turning back to the large room in front of him and smiling.

It was good to be king.

* * *

 **Have I mentioned evil Morro is a piece of crap**

 **~FFF**


	10. Respite

**idk if I've mentioned this before but bansha is my wife**

 **just thought y'all should know that**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: Yep. It was confusing the actual numbers of the chapters with the number of chapters I've posted, if that makes sense. Anyway, they'll be fine. :)**

 **Kyrie: Same. I would kill him off now, but... that would greatly decrease the suffering, and we can't have that, now can we?**

 **Nicktastic: Like screaming in a good way or a bad way?**

 ***looks at the number of reviews I got last chapter***

 ***looks at the number of reviews I got this chapter***

 **hmm**

* * *

Chapter 10

Splinting his fingers was definitely not going to work.

Morro had tried to tear some strips of cloth off of his shirt to bandage his fingers, but he couldn't tear it without use of his fingers, which hurt far too much for him to do anything of use with them. So, instead, he just pressed his hands against the floor, the cold stone numbing the pain slightly. After a few hours of counting the guards' steps, he heard a door swing open, followed by an angry, high-pitched voice.

"…change his mind no matter what you do. There's no point." Indigo?

"Oh be quiet." Morro 2's voice. "Aren't you glad to see him again?"

"Not if you're using me as bait again!" Definitely Indigo. Morro heard a grunt of pain from the other him.

"Do I need to break your fingers too?!" He snapped. Indigo was silent. "Good." Their footsteps were coming closer. Finally, they stopped in front of his cell, which was unlocked and the door pulled open, revealing Indigo and his double standing outside.

"It occurred to me that you might doubt my holding of your girlfriend after the stunt I played in the torture room," he announced, "So I brought her down for a visit. Have fun!" He shoved Indigo into the tiny room, causing her to stumble, then slammed the door and locked it. Indigo glanced back at the door, then turned to him, her eyes widening as she took in his bruised face and swollen fingers.

"You look terrible." She remarked after a few seconds.

"I really do, don't I?" He shifted, lifting his hands from the floor and setting them in his lap. "You are real, then?"

"Unfortunately." She sat down in front of him, reaching out and touching his hands but stopping when he flinched back. "Sorry."

"It's alright. They just hurt… a lot. Has he hurt you?"

"Knocked me down once when I punched him in the face, but otherwise no."

"You _punched him in the face?_ " Morro gaped at her and she grinned.

"He started kissing me. He regretted it." Morro's amused chuckled quickly turned into a frown.

"Why would he kiss you?"

"I think he was trying to convince me to tell him where the base was, though I'm not sure if it was intended to charm me or punish me. Either way, it didn't work."

"Apparently not."

"His vision lady was messing with me, making me see things, but she didn't hurt me." Morro frowned.

"Vision lady?"

"Yeah. Her name's Reena, I think. She made the illusion of Lloyd you saw, I think she's an elemental master." The ghost boy blinked.

"Oh."

"I think she had something to do with the fact that he didn't die when Nya splashed him, too. She said she 'could make a convincing double of him', and said that it was the only reason he was alive." She made quotation marks with her fingers. "I think you were fighting a fake." He frowned.

"But… he controlled the wind, I felt it."

"Well… maybe he was nearby, invisible and manipulating the fight." She shook her head. "The real him was definitely around, because he knocked you down at the end."

"Yeah…" There was silence for a moment before he said, "Could you… bandage my fingers together? They'll hurt less if they're wrapped, but I can't wrap them without any hands." Indigo frowned.

"With what?"

"Just tear some strips off my shirt. It's already ripped enough." The ghost girl hesitated, then reached for the hem of his shirt and tore off a long strip off the bottom, taking one of his hands and straightening out his fingers – making him bite his tongue to keep from crying out – before beginning to wrap the cloth around them. She bound his fingers tightly before tying it on the end and tearing off another strip of cloth, starting on the other hand.

"Feel any better?" She asked. He moved the fingers on his bound hand slightly. Still hurt, but it didn't feel so… wrong. It felt better to have them held in place.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Still hurts, but it feels better."

"Good." Abruptly, the door flew open, and they looked up to see the other him in the doorway.

"Time's up!" He announced. "Convinced she's real yet?" Morro glanced at Indigo.

"Nope." He lied after a moment. "A convincing fake, but a fake nonetheless."

"I'm not a fake." Indigo frowned.

"See?" Morro winked at her and put a finger to his lips when Morro 2's attention turned to her. "Exactly what a fake would say." If the other him thought he thought she was a fake, he, he wouldn't use her to try to get the location of the base from him, would he? Indigo blinked, nodding slightly. Morro 2 let out a frustrated sigh, folding his arms.

"Well _I_ know he's real, moron."

"Was that a pun on my name?" Morro raised an eyebrow, a smile playing around his lips.

"No." The ghost king rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If you haven't told me where the base is by tomorrow, I'll break her legs. Got it?" He grabbed Indigo by the arm, yanking her to her feet as Morro froze, stunned by his threat. As Indigo stumbled backwards, the evil him caught a glimpse of his bandaged hands. "Did you two actually go to the trouble of wrapping your hands? Hmm." He smirked. "Too bad that won't last long." With that, he pulled Indigo out into the hallway, slamming the door and locking it up again before walking away. Morro closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, reflexively clenching his hands into fists before hissing and pain and letting go. Apparently the other him wasn't fooled by his insistence that Indigo was a fake, and planned to hurt her anyway. He couldn't let that happen. But… he couldn't give up the others either. He, literally, had to choose between her and the world.

TheDarknessReturn

Lloyd paced back and forth in a hallway in the back of the base, a dozen plans racing through his head before he dismissed them one by one. Too risky, too unpredictable, too risky, too plain stupid. This was never going to work. He needed help.

It was now two days that Morro had been in captivity, with who knows what being done to him and Indigo. Dyana was still in bad shape, but the sensei had apparently gotten a lead with the poison and should be able to make an antidote soon. The other Lloyd brushed him off whenever he mentioned trying to rescue them, insisting that Dyana came first. She _did_ , but they should be planning for a rescue mission instead of just moping around all day. Lloyd was at the end of his rope. If they didn't come up with a plan to get them back soon, he was going after them himself.

"Lloyd?" The blond boy jumped at the feminine voice, turning around to see Bansha hovering in the hallway behind him with her head tilted slightly. She was virtually silent when she floated, he hadn't heard her coming. "What are you doing all the way back here?" Lloyd let his arms drop from his chest, staring at the ground.

"Worrying about Morro." He said with a sigh.

"Ah." She nodded. "I know how you feel." That's right, she was close with Morro too.

"I can't- I hate that he's locked up and we're not doing anything about it." Lloyd began to pace back and forth again. "The bad Morro cut off this version of me's legs, who knows what he'll do to a good version of himself? I… don't think you can do that to a ghost." He stopped and looked at Bansha. "Can you?"

"Not that I know of."

"Good. But still, he has them both…" Lloyd pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. "No one will help me help them, but I just… feel like they're really in trouble." The sorceress was quiet for a moment before saying,

"I'll help you."

"You will?" Lloyd's head snapped up as he stared at her in surprise. "Really?" She nodded.

"Morro's capture upsets me almost as much as you, and it infuriates me that the other will do nothing to help him or Indigo. If we must rescue him alone, so be it."

"Do you think we can do it alone, though?"

"Perhaps."

"Do you have a plan?"

"The start of one."

"Then let's find an empty room and start planning. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

* * *

 **microsoft word why do you have such an issue with the word "definitely" like wyd**

 **~FFF**


	11. With Silver Tongue

**Whoops I'm late**

 **sorry peeps, I got grounded the first day, then my cat's eye got infected, so I've been dealing with various things irl. :/**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ninjachief: he sucks.**

 **Kat: Yeah. Strange like that. They'll probably be fine.**

 **Nicktastic: #agree**

 **Ebony: He'll be fine. It's Bansha you need to worry about... no spoiler...**

 **Ninjagomlp: Yep, that's her, and Reena's owner said it would be fine if your OC and hers were related, so that's what I'm going with. Also, your reviews don't show up in my inbox for some reason, so if I don't reply, that's why. :P**

 **TheAmberShadow: I really like Bansha :3 Yeah I realized afterwards that since I deleted the April Fools chapter it wouldn't look like I'd updated...**

 **DraconisWinters: It's cool. Congratulations! :D And thanks!**

 **Windy: Microsoft word is so weird :/ Haven't gotten around to seeing it yet. Is it good?**

 **Glacier: WYD means What you doing**

 **rideofthevalkyrjr: I haven't decided what to do with him yet... but yeah he deserves it.**

 **:3**

* * *

Chapter 11

Lloyd sat in a chair in an empty room of the base, tapping his foot on the floor impatiently as he went over his and Bansha's plan again. Since the other Lloyd still refused to do anything to get Morro back, Bansha and him had agreed to leave tonight at midnight. There were a couple submarines, so it wasn't like they were trapping the others here by taking one. Their plan was to sneak into the city and have Bansha infiltrate the castle, since she was a ghost and wouldn't stand out, and break out Morro and Indigo. A lot of it they were going to have to make up as they went, but if that's what it took to rescue Morro, that's what they would do.

"You're crazy." Lloyd looked up in surprise at the unexpected voice, turning to see Harry sitting next to him, an angry look on his face. When'd he get here?

"W-what?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Your plan to rescue Morro. It's crazy. Just you and her will never be able to save him on your own." Lloyd gaped at him.

"H-how did you know about that?"

"I'm a telepath." Harry tapped his head with his index finger. "You looked agitated, so I poked around in your head to find out why. I'm glad I did, the others are gonna want to hear about this." The older teenager started to rise, but Lloyd grabbed his arm.

"Wait, please!" He begged. "You can't"

"Why not?"

"They won't help him! Bansha and I are the only ones who care about him, they'll stop us!"

"That's the idea." Harry started to try to leave again, but Lloyd tightened his grip.

"Please! I can't leave him there!"

"Why do you like him so much?" The physic demanded. "D'you have a thing for him or something?"

"No!" Lloyd blushed slightly at the accusation. "He's just… like my brother. He's saved me so many times, I owe him!"

"Well it's not worth our Morro getting his hands on you." Harry wrenched his arm out of his grasp and started walking away.

"Harry, please!" Lloyd begged one last time. "I won't get caught! I'm not even going in the castle! Please don't tell them!" His voice cracked, a lump growing in his throat. Harry stopped, considering this.

"If you're not going inside, then why are you going at all?"

"As backup. Bansha can't kill ghosts, and they'll need me to help them get out of th-the city in case she's spotted getting them out." Lloyd stumbled over his words slightly in his rush to get them out, watching the older boy as he held his breath.

"Alright, I won't tell." The telepath said at last. "But if you get caught, I am never gonna let you hear the end of it." Lloyd let out the breath in a sign of relief.

"Thank you…"

"Whatever." Harry turned and left the room, leaving him alone again. The green ninja let out a breath, still a little shaky. That was close. If Harry had told the other Lloyd, there's no way he would've let him or Bansha leave. Now they just had to get out of here when no one was looking, and the rest of the plan would go off without a hitch.

Probably.

TheDarknessReturn

Morro kept his head down as he was dragged down the hallway, tucking his hands into his chest as he was pushed into the torture room again. A day had passed since the other him had made his threat, and now it was time for him to make good on it.

He had made his decision.

When the other him came in, Morro looked at the ground, refusing to acknowledge him at first. The other him clasped his hands behind his back, stopping in front of him.

"Well? What will it be? Your girlfriend, or your friends?"

"I'll tell you where they are." Morro muttered as shame clouded his face. "Just leave Indigo alone."

"Very good." The ghost king grinned, taking a step back and folding his arms over his chest instead. "Well? I'm listening."

"Their base is in Stiix. It's underwater." Morro licked his lips as his heart started beating faster. "It's in the middle of the city, right underneath it. They have it built around the supports."

"Interesting." The evil Morro raised an eyebrow. "So… I suppose, if it were punctured, it would be flooded?" Morro looked up at him in shock. _That's_ what he planned to do with them? Just kill them all?! The other him chuckled. "You just doomed the rest of your friends to spare your girlfriend temporary pain. How clever of you." Morro looked down at the floor again as he bit his lip. Morro 2 chuckled, then stepped forward and unlocked the cuffs, offering him a hand out of the chair. Morro lifted his head and frowned at his hand suspiciously, then stood up on his own, ignoring it. As soon as he was upright, the other him reached down and grabbed his hand, crushing his broken fingers in a tight grip and causing him to scream in pain.

"You made the wrong decision." He hissed, pulling the wind master closer as he tried to pull his hand free. "You and your girlfriend will never go free, and I'll do whatever I want with you, whenever I want. Both of you. And now that you've betrayed your friends, there will be no one left to save you. You'll just rot down here, forever. And you'll never see Indigo again." Gripping his hand tighter, the evil Morro threw him into the wall, almost knocking him senseless from the force of it. As he struggled to pick himself up, the other him left and slammed the door behind him. Morro gave up, slumping back to the floor as he hissed in pain. His fingers felt ten times worse now, and his head was pounding where it had slammed against the wall. He bit his lip again, squeezing his eyes shut as sobs began to rise in his throat. He managed to force them down, though, with the thought of the one thing the evil him didn't know.

He hadn't given him the _real_ location of the base.

TheDarknessReturn

"That's it! The war's finally over." Morro's voice broke through the whispers surrounding Indigo, causing her to look up but quickly hide her face again at the realization that her nightmares still surrounded her. "Oh Reena, not again." He sounded exasperated this time, and the whispers around her stopped. When Indigo looked up again, the room was normal.

"What?" Reena asked from where she sat on the ground a few feet away. "I was bored."

"Still, there's no point to it and you're just wasting energy." The ghost king replied as he climbed into his throne.

"Whatever. Now, what were you saying about the war being over?"

"The other me caved and told us where their base was. I'll send a message to Stiix tomorrow telling them where and that they should blow it up." Indigo went pale – well, paler. Morro really gave the others up? For her sake?

"Eyy, congrats." Reena grinned, snapping her fingers and making little sparkles rain from the ceiling. "Got anything in mind in the way of a celebration?"

"One." His eyes fell on Indigo and she scooted back as he grinned. "One of these nights, she and I are going to have a little fun." Indigo's eyes widened. Oh no.

"Pervert." Reena rolled her eyes. "I meant anything that involves the rest of us."

"Well, not yet. Maybe a feast or something." He shrugged. "Whatever the case, my master will be pleased to know that I've finally wiped them out." Master?

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. What if he's lying or something?"

"He's not. You should've seen the look on his face when I told him how his friends are going to die."

"Whatever you say. Now, what was that you were saying about a feast?"

"Glutton." Morro 2 rolled his eyes. "I'll tell the kitchen to whip something up the day their base explodes."

"Good. Can we have a ball or something? That would be fun."

"No." Evil Morro gave her a pointed look. "I'm a tyrant, remember? I don't host balls."

"You're not fun."

"If you want, you could play some music and dance with… her, or something." The ghost king gestured at Indigo, who bristled. Reena glanced at her.

"I think she'd dismember me."

"Heck yeah I would." Indigo snapped. Reena blinked before turning back to Morro.

"I could dance with yoooou." She suggested in a singsong voice.

"Uh, no." The evil Morro folded his arms. "I don't dance. Except in bed." Ew. The illusionist snorted.

"You're no fun."

"We've established that."

"Oh, fine." Reena stood up, then snapped her fingers and an image of a young man in a suit appeared, who bowed to her before taking her hand and beginning to waltz around the room with her. Morro frowned.

"Who's that?"

"It's you if you weren't a party pooper." The image did look kinda like Morro, if he was human and had shorter hair. The ghost king rolled his eyes.

"Go dance somewhere else. My throne room's not a ballroom."

"You think?" She snapped her fingers and the room became a ballroom. "How about now?"

"Reena."

"Oh fine, fine." Letting the boy and the ballroom vanish, she flounced out of the room. As soon as the doors closed, Indigo felt Morro's eyes on her and realized that she was alone with him.

"I'll dismember you too." She snapped, turning to meet his eyes. He raised an eyebrow.

"I liked you better when you were quiet and docile."

"Leave me alone and maybe I'll stay that way."

"I'll think about it." Indigo shuddered as she turned her back to him. Maybe Reena was right, maybe Morro had lied about the location of the base. Maybe the others had moved since they had left, in case evil Morro got them to talk. Maybe, somehow, something would go wrong and the others would survive. God, please don't let him win. Please don't let him be able to do anything to her.

* * *

 **He really is a piece of trash isn't he**

 **aaaaaaaanyway**

 **reminder that I do have a tumblr and often post art or hints about this story so feel free to (please) follow me on there :v**

 **~FFF**


	12. Setting off

**Curse spanish homework**

 **Review replies:**

 **Kat: He deserves something more painful than drowning.**

 **Zena: rip lol**

 **NinjagMLP: Nahhh, he's too clever for that. :)**

 **rideofthevalkyrjur: Of course not. He never gets breaks.**

 **KRR: I mean... in the first chapter I said if you've already entered an OC to please not enter another one... and you've already entered 4 into this series... so...**

 **ninjachief: Just wait till you see the one after this. :)**

 **Ebony: Not the WHOLE city. Just right underneath the ghosts' stronghold. :)**

 **Nicktastic: That might help. A bit. Hard to say.**

 **Loki: Ayy ( ﾟヮﾟ)**

 **TheAmberShadow: We'll see.**

 **Samantha: :)**

 **MLGbillcipher: xD Yeah I get it. He's not bad, just concerned. Lloyd's got ghost mom with him so he should be fine, though.**

* * *

Chapter 12

Lloyd lay on his side on his cot on the floor, staring at the clock as he waited tensely for the number to change one more time. It was 11:59 PM. One more minute before he was supposed to rendezvous with Bansha. And… now. Silently, he scrambled to his feet, padding over to the door and opening it to slip into the hall, whirling into a Spinjitzu tornado to change into his gi as he hurried towards the exit bay. Bansha was waiting there for him, her staff strapped to her back as she hovered next to one of the subs.

"Ready?" He asked quietly. She nodded, her tail solidifying into legs before she stepped into the sub's open hatch. Lloyd followed her, closing and sealing the hatch behind him. The interior of the sub was lined in deepstone, probably for Cole's sake so he didn't fall through it and die, but Bansha still seemed nervous as she seated herself in the co-pilot's seat. Lloyd sat down next to her, pressing a button and starting the sub.

"I hope you know how to drive this thing." Bansha remarked dryly.

"Don't need it. There's autopilot." Lloyd hit another button and the machine lurched forward, causing the bladesmaster to grip the arm of her seat in alarm. After a moment, the jerking of the vehicle ceased and began to move smoothly through the water instead. After a few moments of awkward silence, Lloyd spoke.

"So… what happened between you and Morro? Why'd you join our side?"

"It's a long story."

"We've got nothing else to do." Lloyd crossed one leg over the other, leaning back in his chair as he looked at her. "Let's hear it." Bansha frowned slightly, staring out the windshield at the black water in front of them before starting.

"About a year ago, he appeared in the Cursed Realm, how I'm still not sure. But I found him in the mountain where your father was imprisoned, buried in a pile of rocks with no memory of his past. Even though I hated him, I suppose I felt sorry for him, so I took him back to our base and convinced Soul Archer not to lock him up. When he started getting his memory back, I told him about his past. That is, my version of it."

"Yeah, I remember that much." Lloyd's voice was slightly bitter. Bansha sighed.

"I'm sorry for lying about you, I just… didn't want to lose him. He was my only real friend."

"Oh."

"When the Overlord recruited us, I thought he was going to finally free us. But when we captured Morro, he made me realize I was only a pawn, and an expendable one at that. So I tried to help him escape. I had to run."

"I remember. You showed me that." He reminded her. She paused, then nodded.

"Right. I came to the Monastery, and you know the rest. He… saved me. If not for him, I would have been infected and killed with the rest of them. That's why I joined your side."

"But… you didn't know that the Overlord was going to infect you then, did you?" Lloyd frowned.

"Like I said, Morro warned me something like that would happen. He was right."

"Oh." Just then, the submarine slowed to a stop. "We're here."

"I see." Bansha waited for him to open the hatch before trying to follow him out, but stopped and pulled back when her hand touched the wet outside of the sub. She frowned, trying to figure out a way out of the sub without touching the water. After a moment, Lloyd offered her a hand, which she accepted and took a long step onto the dock with a nod of thanks. A moment later, she faded out of sight. "My glow would give us away." She said quietly. Lloyd nodded.

"Just don't lose me, okay?"

"Right."

"In case we do get separated, I'll meet you on the other side of the bridge, okay?"

"Right. Let's go." Lloyd nodded, heading up a staircase up to the village and quickly ducking behind a house. It should be smooth sailing from here to the city. Before long, they would be back, and Morro and Indigo would be safe. He could only hope that the others didn't go after them.

TheDarknessReturn

Something was wrong here.

Kai glanced around the room for a fifth time, trying to find what about the breakfast table was off. The room was the same, and everyone was here, weren't they? He counted them off in his head as he looked around the table, both Coles, both Jays, both Zanes, the other Kai, both Ll… wait a minute.

"We're missing a Lloyd." He said aloud. "Lloyd 1." The others began looking around as well as concerned murmurs made their way around the room. "Has anyone seen him this morning?"

"Bansha's gone too." Jessica spoke up. Kai frowned.

"Everyone, spread out and look for them. Lloyd I can imagine sulking in a corner somewhere, but Bansha? That's odd." The others obeyed, pushing their chairs back and going to look for them. Except Lloyd 2, Kai noted as he turned to leave, he stayed sitting next to Garmadon. That was probably fair, he only had about half a leg left and his real dad was long dead – trapped? – so it stood to reason that he would stay with him.

A few minutes later, Kai trudged back to the dining room. Neither one of them where anywhere to be found, at least not where he had checked, and he hadn't heard anything from the others, so he guessed they hadn't found them either.

"Uh, guys, I've got some bad news for you." Nya's voice crackled loudly over the intercom. "One of the subs is gone. Everyone to the meeting room." What? They'd left? Why?! Had Bansha kidnapped him? She wouldn't do that. Would she? Just as he entered the meeting room, he heard Lloyd 2 exclaim,

"Bansha kidnapped him!" He must've had the same thought.

"No, she didn't." Harry spoke up. All eyes turned to him as the teen folded his arms, staring at the table.

"How do you know?" Gin spoke up.

"I saw him thinking about it. He and Bansha went to rescue Morro."

"What?!" Garmadon demanded. "That's crazy!"

"I told him that!" The psychic threw his hands up in the air. "He wouldn't listen!"

"And you didn't stop him? Or tell us?!" The grey-haired man snapped.

"I threatened to tell you, but he started begging and pleading for me not to. Said a bunch of stuff about how he was the only one who cares about Morro and that he couldn't leave him to suffer like that. I couldn't refuse."

"Morro's not suffering!" Jay protested. "Probably!"

"You still should have stopped him. He's going to get himself killed!" Garmadon stood up and began to pace back and forth.

"Do you really think he would've listened?" Cole 1 spoke up. "The last time we tried to keep him out of danger, he jumped out the window when we were sleeping and went to fight the Overlord!"

"Wait, fight who?" Lloyd 2 frowned.

"Long story I'll explain later." Cole waved him off. Garmadon sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"You're probably right. I just… why wouldn't he let us help?"

"We had plenty of chances to help, but _someone_ wouldn't let us." Jessica muttered, glaring daggers at Lloyd 2.

"Dyana's more important!" the blond boy protested again.

"But she's healing! We should've started thinking about Morro and Indigo!" It was true, the Senseis had managed to cure the poison the previous day, and Dyana was steadily healing.

"Well I'm sorry!" The green ninja snapped. "Sorry I'm not jumping at the chance to rescue someone who _chopped off my leg!_ "

"He didn't do anything to you and you know it!"

"Well I-"

"Stop!" Sensei interrupted. "This is no time for fighting. We must go after Bansha and Lloyd."

"But there's no way we can catch up to them, we don't know where they are!" Zane 1 pointed out.

"We know where they're going. Suit up, everyone who can. Brother, you too. We may need someone who cannot be hurt."

"Right."

"Lloyd, Jessica, Dyana and I will stay," Wu started, but Jessica interrupted.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not staying behind again."

"Lloyd said you weren't supposed to leave." Gin reminded her.

"Lloyd wasn't supposed to leave either." The daredevil countered. "And look where we are now?" Gin considered this for a moment.

"Fine."

"Lloyd, Dyana, and I will stay." Sensei corrected himself. "Everyone else, get out as soon as possible. We may be able to catch up in time to help."

"Help?" Lloyd 2 frowned. "What about chewing them out and dragging them back here?"

"That too, but as long as were there we may as well rescue my student and his girlfriend, shouldn't se?"

"I… guess." Lloyd shook his head. "Whatever."

"Get going." Wu clapped his hands together, and they began to file out of the room. As Kai hurried back to his room to grab his gi, he wondered what had possessed Lloyd to run off like that. He _knew_ what happens when he does that. Lloyd, please don't do anything stupid. At least, not until we get there to back you up.

* * *

 **Bit too late for that, Kai**

 **Soooo I should probably note that I'm going on vacation again on the 25th, I think, and getting back May 4th or 5th. So I'll be gone for about a week and a half. Just a heads-up.**

 **~FFF**


	13. Strike Two

**Happy late Easter everyone :v**

 **Review replies:**

 **Kat: We'll see.**

 **Ebony: Bansha will... certainly suffer. How exactly has yet to be seen. :) As for the evil Morro, he's definitely curious, but, at least for now, obliterating his enemies is more important. And yeah, Lloyd 2 needs character development.**

 **KRR: Hahahahaha good luck with that. My characters have tried that already. They failed. And I've only seen about half an episode of HoT so far.**

 **Brave: We'll see.**

 **ninjachief: Kid doesn't know when to quit. You should always be scared when it comes to Morro.**

 **Nicktastic: Oh, definitely.**

 **The Mayor of Ninjago City: He's a smart kid.**

 **TheAmberShadow: Pfft... well you're not wrong.**

 **Samantha: Getting your legs chopped off can do that to you.**

 **Windy: xDD Siblings will do that. Yeah, I've seen it. I really want to go see it the day it comes out, but my family almost never goes out to movies, so it probably won't happen. :C**

 **Glacier: :)**

* * *

Chapter 13

Lloyd, despite being the leader of a ninja team, was not very good at thinking ahead.

In him impulsive rush to save Morro, he had managed to forget to pack food or water, which was how he found himself at noon that day, trudging dizzily across the hot sand and acting like he was about to die of thirst. Bansha floated alongside him, completely unaffected by the heat or lack of supplies. She offered to carry him a couple times, but both times he quickly refused.

Finally, a couple of hours into the afternoon, the blond boy flopped forward into the sand, mumbling something about getting up after a quick rest. Ten seconds later, he had passed out. Exasperated, Bansha picked him up and carried him for a few miles to an oasis with a spring of water, where she laid him in the shade of a tree and shook him awake. He was surprised and a bit indignant when he learned she had carried him, but grudgingly thanked her when he spotted the water. After drinking his fill, they continued their way. Fortunately, they were out of the desert in another hour, and reached the edge of the city by nightfall.

Though he was tired, Lloyd pressed onward through the city, Bansha following him to Morro's castle. Once they arrived, after a quick conversation, they agreed that Lloyd would stay in the alley just outside the courtyard, not moving unless necessary. After urging him not to fall asleep, the blademistress slipped through the courtyard, invisible, then headed down the first staircase she could find. Down she would find a dungeon, and in a dungeon, she would find Morro.

TheDarknessReturn

Indigo stared at the ground below her, counting the cracks in the tile over and over again as she tried to keep her mind off evil Morro's voice in the background. The ghost king had given the order to blow up the ninja's base about ten minutes ago, and was now bragging about his accomplishments to Reena. Indigo had a bad feeling that his attention would soon turn to her, and there wasn't much she was going to be able to do about it. As if on cue, Morro stopped talking, his gaze falling on her.

"Reena, go find something else to do. Indigo and I are going to… celebrate." The illusionist nodded, turning and heading towards the exit as evil Morro stood up, heading towards the pole she was chained to.

"If you so much as touch me, I'm gonna bite you." She threatened. He rolled his eyes.

"Clearly you've never done this before. Maybe if you don't fight I'll go easy on you, hmm?"

"'Maybe'. I don't think it's worth the trouble." The ghost king rolled his eyes again before bending down and reaching for her cuffed wrists. She bit his hand. He instantly slapped her across the face with his other hand, but his yelp of pain made it worth it.

"Little beast…" He muttered as she rubbed her stinging cheek, digging in his pocket for the key. Once he found it, he reached towards her again, threatening, "I'll hit you harder if you try to bite me again." Ignoring his warning, Indigo moved to bite his hand again, but this time he moved away in time, following up with a much harder blow to her other cheek. Her head snapped back and she sat there for a few moments, dazed, as he unlocked her cuffs and hauled her to her feet. Ears ringing, she grabbed his arm for support. He chuckled.

"Better." Not letting go of her wrist, he started towards the door he always disappeared into at night. His bedroom. It was now or never. Tightening her grip on his arm, she sapped his energy until he passed out, rewarded by a strangled yelp before he tumbled to the floor. Pulling her wrist out of his now-limp hand, Indigo turned and ran towards the door to the dungeon. This was her only chance. If she didn't make it out of here with Morro before that Morro woke up, she would be recaptured, and they would never have a chance like this again.

TheDarknessReturn

Bansha hurried down the dark passages of the dungeon, clutching a ring of keys in one hand as she glanced in every cell she passed. She had managed to snap the keys from a guard she had found dozing in a corner, making off with them before he woke up. Now all she had to do was find Morro, which could be harder than she'd imagined due to the sheer size of the dungeon. There were so many hallways, she really had no idea where she was anymore. Finally, she spotted a familiar figure through a barred window, and quickly stopped and backed up to get a better look. It was Morro, she recognized him from the green in his hair. Otherwise it was hard to tell his identity, as he was pressed in a corner, facing away from her, and his clothes were torn and dirty. Was he asleep? Turning to the lock, Bansha began trying the keys, one after another. Finally, one turned, and the door creaked open. Instantly, Morro's head jerked up, eyes wide with alarm as they focused on her.

"Hey." Bansha put her hands up to show that she was unarmed. "It's alright. It's me." Slowly, his tense posture relaxed, and he frowned,

"Are you… my Bansha?" She nodded.

"Yes."

"Oh thank God…" he breathed. "H-how did you get here?"

"I snuck in, invisible. Lloyd's waiting outside the castle. Where's Indigo?"

"She's upstairs somewhere. With the other Morro." The ghost boy braced his hands on the floor, trying to push himself up, but quickly gave up as pain clouded his face.

"Here." Bansha offered him a hand up, but he shook his head.

"I can't take your hand. The other me… broke all my fingers. They hurt too much for me to do much of anything with them." Oh. The bladeswoman took a closer look at his hands, flinching when she saw how crooked his fingers were.

"Then…" She bent down and put her hands under his arms, lifting him to his feet. He swayed slightly, but nodded in thanks. Keeping a hand on his elbow in case he fell, she lead him out of the cell, stopping short when the light of a torch fell on him. One of his eyes was bruised black, and his cheek was swollen. The rest of him wasn't much better, she realized as her eyes swept down his body. All of his exposed skin was darkened from bruises and cuts. Morro's eyes lowered to the ground when he realized she was looking at his injuries.

"The other me… really doesn't like me." He mumbled, cracking a faint smile. Bansha shook her head.

"Never mind that. We need to find Indigo and get you two out of here."

"Morro?" They both jumped at the sound of a voice, and the wind master spun around, then dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around the smaller figure behind him. Indigo.

"You're alright!" He exclaimed as she hugged him back. "What happened? How'd you get away from him?"

"He unchained me so I drained his energy and ran." She said before pulling away. "Are you our Bansha?" She addressed the ghost woman.

"I am." Bansha nodded. "We need to go. Lloyd's waiting outside."

"Wait." Indigo turned back to Morro, frowning. "The evil Morro said… he said you told him where the base was. To protect me." The bladeswoman's eyes widened. Had he really…?! Instead, Morro shook his head, lifting his hand and gently laying his fingers against his girlfriend's cheek.

"I lied to buy us some time. He didn't catch on." The ghost girl breathed a sigh of relief.

"So the others are safe."

"Perfectly safe." Morro agreed. "Now let's get out of here before the other me wakes up."

TheDarknessReturn

"Lloyd!" Lloyd pressed his hands over his ears, trying to block out the voice of whoever was trying to wake him up. "Lloyd! Come on, wake up!" This time, the voice was accompanied by shaking, and he groggily pushed the hands away.

"Five more minutes…" he mumbled. He heard a groan.

"He hasn't gotten more than an hour of sleep in a couple days." The voice muttered. "I honestly expected him to fall asleep, but I didn't think he'd be this hard to wake up.

"Lloyd?" A hand touched his shoulder gently, and his eyes snapped open as he recognized the voice.

"Morro!" He exclaimed, his head popping up as the ghost pulled his hand back. "You're okay!"

"Well… mostly." The wind master cracked a faint smile. Lloyd reached towards him to hug him, but Morro exclaimed,

"Stop!" When the blond stared at him in confusion, he explained. "The other Morro broke all my fingers and they hurt a lot, and I'm pretty beat up too. Just… be gentle with me, okay?" Lloyd nodded, then carefully wrapped his arms around his chest, smiling as he felt Morro's hands gingerly rest on his back. After a couple moments, he slowly pulled away.

"Were you spotted?" He asked, glancing at Bansha and Indigo.

"I don't think so." The bladeswoman shook her head. "But we should still get back, all the same."

"Yeah. The others'll be worried." Lloyd got to his feet, and, noticing Morro struggling to do the same, took him by the arm and pulled him upright. "Let's get out of here before we _do_ get spotted." The others nodded, and the four started down the alley. As they passed a side passage, Lloyd felt a hand brush his arm, and looked up in surprise to see a figure vanishing around a corner. "Did you see…" he started, but trailed off at the confused looks on the others' faces. "Never mind. Must have just been someone who lives-" before the words could make it out of his mouth, there was a loud creaking noise and a tall stack of boxes fell towards them. Bansha and Indigo dodged one way while Lloyd pushed Morro the other way, and the pile fell between them, blocking their view of each other. The blond boy managed to catch Morro before he hit the ground, then sat up, staring at the boxes. Where had those come from?

"Morro? Lloyd?" Indigo's voice came from the other side of the boxes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. We're fine." Lloyd called back.

"I can't go through these boxes. They're deepstone or something." Indigo said after a moment, sounding confused.

"There's too many to climb over. We'll have to split up." Bansha instructed. "Meet at the edge of the desert."

"Okay." The green ninja carefully tugged Morro to his feet again as he heard the girls' footsteps move farther away. "C'mon." The wind master frowned.

"Do you think someone's… trying to separate us?"

"No." the blond shook his head. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence. Let's go, we don't wanna fall too far behind."

"Okay…" Morro followed him down the alley. "I still think something's off."

"We're in a city ruled by an evil version of you. Everything is off here."

"More than that." The ghost insisted. "Something feels really wrong." He stopped, and Lloyd went a few steps further before stopping and turning to look at him.

"What?"

"I... think we should go back and find a way to join the girls." Morro hugged his arms to his chest, his broken hands limp. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"They've already gone." Lloyd shook his head. "We're gonna be fine, okay? I won't let anything happen to you." The ghost boy stared at the ground for a few moments before nodding.

"Let's just get out of here as soon as possible."

"Okay." Lloyd turned back to the path ahead, almost as eager to get out of there as the ghost was.

The last thing he heard was a loud thud as something slammed into his head before he crumpled to the ground.

* * *

 **wow**

 **lloyd seems**

 **really**

 **down on his luck**

 **;))))))))))**

 **So, I probably won't be updating again until at least Thursday. I have a spanish presentation due on Wednesday that I'm kinda really nervous about because I've never _done_ a presentation before and idk if I'm gonna epicly fail or not, so... yeah.**

 **Also, would the owner of the OC Mimora Collins let me know? I printed out her bio but I forgot to write down who owned her and I have no memory of whether she came from a review or PM so I don't know where to look... sorry ^ ^'**

 **~FFF**


	14. Imprisoned

**That was a nightmare**

 **please never make me speak in public ok thanks**

 **so I have to leave in like 2 minutes so there's no time for review replies buuuuut I figured y'all would want an update sO here ya go**

* * *

Chapter 14

"Where are they…" Bansha muttered, tapping her finger on her staff. "They should be here by now."

"Do you think something happened to them?" Indigo asked, sitting on the ground where the dirt met the sand. Bansha shook her head.

"Maybe. But the city is huge, perhaps they just got lost."

"It's been three hours!" Indigo threw her hands up in the air. "Something's not right!"

"I'm sure they're fire." The blademistress said with a sigh. "Perhaps they got here first and left without us."

"But they said they'd wait for us!"

"Maybe they thought we left without them." Bansha slid her staff into its sheath and sat down beside her. "We'll wait another hour. If they haven't show up by then, we'll leave."

"Okay." Indigo sighed, leaning back on her hands. "Thanks for showing up when you did. I don't think I could've broken Morro out on my own." Bansha nodded.

"How did you escape?"

"The evil Morro had me chained to a pole in his throne room, so he could mock me or something. He unchained me to…" she shifted uncomfortably. "He unchained me, and he didn't know I'm an elemental master, so I drained his energy and ran."

"Hmm."

"But I don't think I could've gotten the keys, or broken the door down, even with my enhanced strength. Has anything happened to the rest of the group?"

"Dyana was poisoned, but the Sensei managed to cured it and she's recovering. That's why the other Lloyd refused to come after you and Morro, he said that her safety took first priority."

"Oh. So… it's really just you and Lloyd? I thought that was odd." Indigo frowned. "So the others are… where?"

"Hopefully back at base." She could only hope they hadn't followed them. Indigo glanced at her wrist.

"I still think something's wrong."

"We'll see." The rest of the hour passed in a similar fashion, mostly silence and small talk with Indigo occasionally expressing her fear for the others. Finally, an hour passed, and the boys still hadn't appeared, so they started across the desert. Bansha could only hope they found Morro and Lloyd on the other side.

TheDarknessReturn

Lloyd woke up to darkness.

The blond boy blinked his eyes open, peering into the pitch blackness in front of him. Were his eyes even open? The darkness felt… smothering. He quickly lifted a hand and summoned a ball of light, lighting up the small room. It seemed to be a normal, mostly empty room, with a door on one side and a window, table, and two chairs on the other. Huh. He stumbled to his feet, stepping towards it. His head kinda hurt, but he had been knocked out, so that was to be expected. He twisted the knob. It turned. Carefully, he pushed it open to reveal a dimly-lit hallway, with four other doors. Where was Morro? He had been with him before he was knocked out, wasn't he? Stepping out into the narrow hallway, he tried one of the doors. It was locked. The one next to it wasn't, though, he discovered as he turned the knob, and inside was a small, glowing green figure lying in a corner.

"Morro!" Lloyd hurried towards the figure, kneeling next to him and tilting his head up to confirm that, yes, it was him. He was unconscious, but otherwise looked mostly unharmed, except for the broken fingers, of course. Letting his head slump back down, Lloyd shook him gently. "Morro, wake up." The ghost didn't move. "Morro, wake up." The blond boy repeated, shaking him harder. Finally, the wind master shifted and blinked up at him.

"L-Lloyd?" He croaked, then coughed to clear his throat. "What happened? Where are we?" He asked in a stronger voice.

"Not sure." Lloyd shook his head, pulling him up into a sitting position. "I glanced around outside in the hall, but I didn't see anyone else. Let's go, the girls are gonna be worried about us." He tried to tug Morro to his feet, but the ghost resisted.

"Just… just let me rest for a minute first." Lloyd shrugged, sitting down. "…my hands hurt." Morro muttered after a few seconds.

"Oh." Lloyd looked at the ghost's mangled hands sitting in his lap. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I think wrapping them would help…" Morro nodded. "Indigo did it once before, but… then the other me tore them off and broke my hands more." The ghost looked down.

"Oh." The green ninja said again. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. I'll just be glad when we're back at the base and all this is over." The wind master sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "Use my shirt for bandages, it's half-gone already." Morro started trying to pull the garment off, but gave up when he realized he couldn't grip it with his broken fingers, so Lloyd helped him tug it over his head. Once it was off, the blond boy began tearing it into long strips before starting to bind Morro's fingers together, following the murmured instructions the ghost gave from time to time. Once his fingers were wrapped tightly, Morro allowed Lloyd to pull him upright, leading him out into the hall and picking a random direction before heading left.

A quick exploration later, the two had determined that the building, at least, what they could get to, was empty, but there was no way out. The only door that appeared to lead out was stuck, the handle would turn but Lloyd couldn't get it to move. Finally, he brought Morro to a dark window, then struck the glass with his elbow, causing it to shatter. As it fell away, Lloyd reached through, and was surprised to feel something cool and smooth just outside.

"Morro, can you come up here?" The blond boy asked the ghost, who was sitting against the wall beside the window. "There's something through here, and you glow, so…" Morro nodded, lifting his hand for assistance and letting Lloyd take him by the wrist to pull him upright. Carefully, he stuck his hand through the broken glass, lighting up and revealing what looked like a bunch of intertwining green tubes. Morro carefully brushed his fingertips against them, then frowned.

"I… can't go through it. I think it's some sort of… plant?"

"Leaving so soon?" Lloyd jumped at the unfamiliar voice, whirling around to see the silhouette of a teenager standing in the doorway of the dark room. The blond boy tried to get a good look at him, but the hood over his hair overcast his face with shadows. After a moment, Lloyd's gaze dropped to the floor be the boy's feet, where something was slithering around the corner into the room. A vine? No. Lots of vines. They followed the boy as he took a step forward, splitting and growing until they grew back up within a foot of Morro and Lloyd, who shrank back against the wall. This must be their captor. He must be blocking the windows and doors. Morro couldn't go through the vines… they could hurt him. Would the boy attack?  
"Oh Gray, stop showing off." A second figure appeared in the doorway, accompanied by a female voice. The boy paused, then the vines receded. The girl flipped a switch and turned on the light in the room, revealing her and the boy's appearances. Neither one looked familiar. "Can't you see you're scaring them?" The girl continued, stepping forward as she twirled one of her long, black braids.

"That's the idea." The boy – Gray – muttered as he pulled the strings of his hood tighter. The girl continued to approach, stopping in front of Lloyd and extending a hand. "Name's Claire. Nice ta meet'cha. Officially."

"Uh… hi." Lloyd hesitantly shook her hand. "What do you mean 'officially'?"

"I knocked you out in the alley earlier, but that doesn't really count."

"…okay." The blond shook his head. "Uh… why?"

"Would it be cliché if I sang 'I'm the bad guy'?"

"Sang what?"

"I'M THE BAD GUY!" She yelled, causing Lloyd to flinch back at her shout in his face. "I'm gonna hand you over to Morro – the real Morro – and become rich and powerful! One the dummy stops refusing communications, that is." She folded her arms with a huff.

"How do you know I'm not the real Morro?" Morro spoke up.

"Pshh. The real Morro would never hang out with Lloyd." She rolled her eyes. "I heard some rumors that Morro was keeping an imposter in his castle, so when I saw you two running around, well… it was too great an opportunity to pass up." She grinned, the offered a hand towards Morro to shake. He just stared at her.

"What? Don't you know it's polite to shake hands when you meet someone?"

"You captured me and locked me up. That's not polite either. Besides, all my fingers are broken." She rolled her eyes, then grabbed his wrist and shook his limp hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Wish I could say the same." Was all Morro replied.

"Anyway, back to the point. You two can't get out, mmkay? Don't bother trying, Gray'll kick your tails. Feel free to wander around, but don't go through any closed doors. Those are off limits. If you're good, we'll feed you. Comprendo?" The two boys just stared at her. "Good. C'mon, Gray." Claire turned and walked out, the grumpy boy following behind her. Lloyd stared after them for a moment before sinking down against the wall.

"Oh no." He said softly after a moment. Morro sat down beside him.

"We'll get out somehow." He promised. "I don't know how, but I know we will." Lloyd sighed, leaning his head on the ghost's shoulder.

"I hope you're right." He paused, then said, "Do you think the girls made it out alright?"

"Probably." Morro nodded. "They're both ghosts, and they both have powers. They should be fine."

"Okay." Lloyd stared at the far wall. Maybe coming here was a mistake. So far, all they had done was get captured. He could only hope and pray that all the others were still safe.

* * *

 **I really wish I could give all the OCs a major role in the story. All of them are so cool and complex and I could do so much with them**

 **but noooooo I have a plot to follow**

 **...**

 **on an unrelated note, rakan and xayah are officially the coolest champs in league k thanks**


	15. Miscommunication

**Review replies:**

 **Ebony: They can never get a break. Ever. It's not allowed.**

 **rideofthevalkyrjur: We'll see.**

 **Kat: xDD Seems right. The other idiots probably got lost in the desert, no one knows.**

 **Rosalina: She's a jerk. There are a lot of those in this dimension.**

 **Starry: He has poor planning skills, didn't even think to bring cookies. All my endings are the best. Except the cliffhangers.**

 **Nicktastic: Every time.**

 **KRR: Every time.**

 **Amber: Every time.**

 **Samantha: Yep. There's also a master of shadows, and Tori is a master of darkness, so... we do have some doubles. Not to mention the canon master of sound and Alex the master of music, if anyone remembers him...**

 **Windy: They'll be fine.  
**

 **Chan: you hecker**

* * *

Chapter 15

They were almost back, and there was still no sign of the boys.

Bansha lead Indigo through Stiix, walking down the main street as the younger ghost held onto her arm. While they were ghosts, and would likely blend in fairly well with the rest of the populace, this was where the other Bansha lived, and the blademistress didn't want to risk being spotted, so the two were invisible. Hence Indigo holding onto her so they didn't get separated.

"Only a little further until we get to the docks…" Bansha murmured when there was no one nearby to hear them. Indigo hummed in reply. Ten minutes later, they arrived, climbing down to the lower docks where the submarines landed. Unfortunately, there was nothing there. Had Morro and Lloyd taken the submarine back to the base? Bansha sighed, letting herself become visible again as she sank to the ground. "I'm worried too." She said after a moment. Indigo sat down next to her.

"Should we go back?"

"There's no point. They could be anywhere by now." Bansha shook her head, resting her chin on her hand. "We'll just have to wait until the others come out." She could only hope the boys were in there.

"Should we stay invisible?"

"No." The sorceress shook her head. "There's no point. No one's down here."

"That's what you think, you-!" Something slammed into the back of Bansha's head, and she slumped to the side, faint shouts being the last thing she heard before her eyes closed of their own accord and she passed out.

TheDarknessReturn

There really was no way out of that building.

Lloyd and Morro had tried a few times to escape, but nothing seemed to be able to break those vines, and all attempts to make it through those forbidden doors were met with disaster. Every time something seemed to go wrong. The first time, the door squeaked loudly when it was opened, the second time it was stuck and slammed into the far wall when they finally got it open, then the third time it fell right off its hinges and crashed to the floor. Lloyd was starting to wonder if Claire was sabotaging the door so she could watch them get caught.

True to her word, though, Claire had given them nothing to eat, or, in Lloyd's case, drink. By the second day, Lloyd was hungry enough that he was willing to stay, giving up on escaping at least for now. Instead, he just leaned against the wall in one of the rooms, one hand on his stomach as he stared at the far wall with half open eyes. He was starting to panic a bit. He didn't know if they would give him food after he tried to escape, and his throat was starting to feel dry too. Would they just let him die? Noticing his quickening breathing and widening eyes, Morro, next to him, carefully put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close.

"Are you okay?" The ghost asked as Lloyd rested his head on his shoulder.

"Not really…" the blond boy mumbled. "I'm really hungry… I don't wanna starve…"

"They won't let you starve. They need you as bargaining material, remember?" Morro rested his chin on Lloyd's head.

"Well… that's not much better…" Lloyd shifted slightly. "I really hate this feeling." He pressed his hand against his stomach. "I hate feeling so hungry."

"I'm sorry." Morro closed his eyes and nuzzled his hair. "I'm sure they won't let you go hungry much longer. And, after a little while the feeling will go away and it won't hurt so much."

"How do you know?"

"I grew up on the streets, I went hungry a lot." Morro shrugged a bit. "Most of the time I couldn't really feel the hunger, 'cause I had gone hungry for so long."

"Oh." Lloyd frowned, feeling sort of guilty for reacting so badly about going hungry once. "How old were you when you moved in with Sensei?"

"Maybe six or seven?" The ghost frowned. "I dunno. I didn't keep good track of my age."

"Mmm." Lloyd closed his eyes. "Do you think we'll get out of here before Claire gives us to the evil Morro?"

"I don't know. I hope so." Morro shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe the girls will send the others after us."

"Do you think they even went on? They said they'd wait for us."

"It's been more than a day. They won't have waited for us forever."

"True." Lloyd sighed. "But if the others come… won't they get caught too?"

"They're tough. And your dad is invincible. Nothing can stop him."

"At least there's that. I wish I'd wished the others invincible too, like Jessica and Kai and Sensei and you…" Lloyd glanced at Morro's mangled hands.

"They'll be fine. They can take care of themselves. And I'll heal." The ghost reassured him. "I doubt Sensei at least will even leave the base."

"Probably not." The blond boy nodded slightly.

"Just be patient, okay? Things will work out, trust me." Morro nuzzled his hair again before resting his chin on top of his head. Lloyd hummed.

"Okay." The blond turned his head so his cheek pressed against the ghost's shoulder, feeling sleepy. Hopefully that was just a sign of a lack of sleep and not his impending death by starvation. It had only been a couple days, he would probably be okay if he slept for a little while. Maybe there would be food when he woke up.

TheDarknessReturn

"That's what you think, you filthy ghost!" Indigo whirled around at the angry shout, just in time to see Bansha slump to the ground with a quiet groan. Standing over her were two teenagers, a boy with a black club and a girl with funny hair that was black on top but faded to white at the ends. It took Indigo a few seconds to process what had happened, but once she did she leapt forward, grabbing the boy's arm and draining his energy until he toppled over. The girl instantly spun around and kicked at her, her shoe – which must've been deepstone – catching her in the arm and making it snap back.

"Ow!" Indigo exclaimed before jumping at her. The girl ducked out of the way, shoving her to the ground and throwing her off balance. The ghost girl tumbled on the ground before rolling over and scrambling back to her feet, taking a defensive stance and facing her opponent. The human girl stared at her from a couple feet away, hands positioned in a way to easily deflect any of her attacks. She was wearing black clothes, probably deepstone so she could hit her. She had to knock her out. The void master faked a step to the girl's left, then dove towards her right, knocking her to the ground.

"Mira!" The girl yelped. As Indigo started to drain her energy, the world abruptly went black, and she recoiled in shock. What happened? Was there something weird about that girl's energy? She felt the girl shoving her off and tried to grab her again, but the black changed to flashing colors, accompanied by a roaring in her ears that caused her to crumple to the ground. What was going on?! She could hear voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying through the noise.

A pair of arms wrapped around her waist and picked her up, causing her to struggle, but she only succeeded in getting a punch in the face. She stopped fighting, even if she did get free she wouldn't be able to escape if she couldn't see a thing through the flashing in her eyes. After a minute, she was pushed onto the ground, and the lights and sound began to fade, revealing a black cage around her. Oh, not again. Further examination revealed a few more cages in the room, two of which were occupied, one by Bansha and another by a black-haired human girl who was facing the other way. The girl with funny hair was sitting in a chair at the exit of the room, and gave her a nasty look when she saw her looking around.

"Hey, what did I ever do to you?" Indigo asked, folding her arms. The girl scoffed.

"You _exist_. You and the rest of your kind, nasty, usurping little beasts."

"I'm not on Morro's side!" the ghost protested, realizing what she meant. "I just escaped his castle yesterday!"

"Sure you did."

"Really!" Indigo stood up and stomped her foot. "Just because I happen to be dead doesn't mean I'm a bad guy! Bansha and I were just trying to get home!"

"Well I _know_ that _she's_ on Morro's side! She rules this city on his behalf!" The girl snapped. "I don't know what she was doing down here with you, but I'm going to make her _pay_ for what she's done to my parents and my city!"

"Bansha didn't do anything to you! She's from another dimension!"

"Like I'm gonna believe that!"

"Well, look up in Stiix! There's a Bansha up there too!"

"Thanks, but no thanks. Everyone knows she spends all her time in her headquarters, and I'm not breaking in there just to prove a stupid ghost wrong."

"But you can't hurt Bansha, she didn't do anything wrong!"

"You wanna bet?"

"Lila?" A girl with curly blond hair stepped into the doorway, interrupting their argument. "Nico's woken up. He seems unharmed."

"He _is_ unharmed." Indigo said loudly. "My powers only put people to sleep." The two glanced at her, but didn't acknowledge her.

"Let me check on him." The funny hair girl, Lila, stood up and left the room with the blond.

"So, falsely accused, huh?" A voice spoke up as soon as the two had left, and Indigo turned around to see the girl from the other page facing her. "Same here."

"Who're you?" The ghost frowned.

"Name's Charlotte. Call me Charlie." The girl offered her a hand through the bars of her cage and Indigo shook it. "I got forcefully drafted into Bansha's army when she heard about my fighting skills, and these three managed to kidnap me to try to get information. I don't have any, but they refuse to believe it."

"I'm Indigo." The void mistress introduced herself. "So you believe me that we're from another dimension?"

"I do. That's definitely not the Bansha in charge here, she looks way different." Charlie nodded at the unconscious woman behind her. "These three are pretty suspicious – can't say I blame them – but I don't think they'll see reason."

"Hmm." Indigo glanced at the doorway. The girls hadn't come back. "So what can I do? Bansha's innocent."

"We escape." The dark-haired girl pounded her fist into her hand. "You mentioned having powers, something about being able to put people to sleep."

"It's a bit more complicated than that."

"Well, then tell me." Charlie folded her hands together and rested her chin on them. "I want to hear alllllll about it."

* * *

 ***throws 6 OCs at you in 2 chapters***

 **And on that lovely note, I leave on vacation. I mean, I leave on Tuesday, but I don't think I'll be able to write and post another chapter in one day. I did write a oneshot, so I'll be posting that tomorrow.**

 **ALSO: IF ANYONE'S MADE A ONESHOT REQUEST AND I HAVEN'T WRITTEN IT YET PLEAAASSSEEEE REMIND ME IN YOUR REVIEW SO I CAN WRITE IT ON VACATION I AM GOING TO GO THROUGH THE REVIEWS AND TRY TO FIND ALL THE REQUESTS BUT I'LL PROBABLY MISS SOME AND I WANNA WRITE ALL OF THEM K THANKS**

 **~FFF**


	16. Lull

**2 vacations down, 1 to go**

 **Review replies:**

 **KRR: Wow Kayenta. Harsh. Too bad you're out of luck (insert shrug emoji here). They're probably fine :)**

 **RosalinaWisteria: I forgot to write it down and lost track of it ^ ^' It's written now!**

 **ninjachief: Np :D OCs are much easier to add in when I group them together, it gives them a bit more of a background. And yeah Morro would definitely give his to Lloyd.**

 **Ebony: If you think this is bad you should see rideofthevalkyrjur and I's roleplays. Also yeah he's probably flown into a rage and killed a couple people at this point. :) Being a tyrant is much more fun.**

 **Starry: Well you're not wrong. As for Charlie... we'll see ;)**

 **Amber: Np :) And they have no idea where the girls are. They just think they're all in the city somewhere. Morro's castle, to be specific. But none of them are. :)**

 **Windy: Written! I'll try to post it first because I like it huehue**

 **Dreamcatchers: *sweats nervously* define "starve"**

 **Blazemit: I mean a random janitor would probably just dump water on him and kill him**

* * *

Chapter 16

"Wakey wakey prisoners!" Lloyd awoke to a loud voice and the sound of someone clapping their hands.

"I'm not asleep." Morro's indignant voice came from above him as Lloyd sleepily blinked his eyes open.

"Yeah, but your little buddy is." The blond boy looked up to see Claire standing over them with a basket and a jug of water. "Good morning, green bean." He ignored her comment, eyes fixing instead on the basket.

"What's that?"

"Well, since you've gone a whole 24 hours without trying to escape, I've decided to reward you by not letting you starve to death." The black-haired girl set the basket down, revealing that it was full of green apples. Lloyd instantly reached for one, but Claire pinned his hand to the ground with her foot.

"Ow!" He yelped, trying to pull his hand free.

"Listen to me first." She leaned towards him, transferring more of her weight onto his hand and causing him to whimper in pain, "Try to escape again, and you'll go twice as long without food. Capeesh?" He nodded quickly, and she stepped off his foot and started walking away. After a moment, she remembered the jug of water and set it down by the basket before leaving the room. The blond boy quickly reached for the apple again, wincing at the pain in his hand but ignoring it as he bit into the fruit. It was sour, but he was too hungry to care. Morro took one as well, and the two ate in silence for a few minutes. Once Lloyd had finished his apple, eating everything but the seeds and the stem, he reached for another.

"Don't eat too fast." Morro cautioned, putting a hand on his arm to stop him. "You'll make yourself sick."

"But I'm hungryyyy." She blond boy whined.

"It won't do you any good if you eat everything and then vomit it all up. Wait." The ghost hooked an arm around his waist and pulled him back, keeping him from reaching the basket. Lloyd sighed in defeat, staring glumly at the tanzilizing fruits.

"Can I at least get a drink?" he asked, gaze shifting to the jug of water. Morro loosened his grip.

"Sure." The green ninja crawled over to the jug and carefully brought it to his lips, being careful not to spill any. Once he finished drinking, he glanced over his shoulder at Morro, then snatched an apple and scrambled to his feet, sprinting to the other side of the room. The ghost rolled his eyes. "Lloyd, put that back."

"Uh-uh." Lloyd grinned, lifting it to his mouth to take a bite.

"Do you _want_ to throw up?"

"I'm not gonna throw up, _mom_."

"I'm not your mom."

"You're acting like one!" The blond boy called in a singsong voice. Rolling his eyes again, Morro stood up and started walking towards him. Lloyd dodged to the side, running past him to the other side of the room.

"Do I really have to chase you?" The wind master put his hands on his hips.

"Yes."

"Alright then." Morro broke into a run towards him, and Lloyd yelped, running around the edge of the room. The ghost chased him around a few times before turning and cutting him off. The blond boy stopped short, but slipped on the tile floor and thudded to the ground on his back.

"Ow."

"I thought you ninja weren't supposed to be clumsy." Morro put his hands behind his back as he walked over, standing over him and grinning.

"Most ninja have better traction." The green ninja countered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're supposed to be able to fight in all sorts of environments. If you fell down and just lay there like that, you'd be dead or captured right now."

"Well, if I fell down in a battle, I would twist-" he stood back up and mimicked falling down again to demonstrate. "-to land in a crouch, then when you got close, I would kick my legs out from under you." He spun in slow motion, still in a crouch, and stopped with his leg against the side of Morro's. "Then, when you were on the ground, I would kick your head into the floor and pin you down." Lloyd relaxed his stance to sit on the floor. "Better?" The ghost nodded approvingly.

"But what if I jumped over your kick and you were thrown off balance?"

"Then…" The blond paused for a moment, thinking. "Then you'd try to either kick me and pin me down or tackle me, so I'd have to roll to the side and get to my feet, then we'd be even again."

"What if I anticipated your roll and kicked there instead?"

"Then I'd roll the other way."

"How would you know which way I was going to kick?"

"How would you know which way I was gonna roll?"

"Hmm, fair point." Morro sat down beside him. "There's really no way to figure out how that would end without sparring."

"Yeah, and _that's_ not gonna work." Lloyd frowned. "I could go really easy on you."

"That would take the point out of it." The ghost dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. Lloyd was silent for a few moments, then help up the slightly-bruised apple.

"Can I eat this now?"

"…fine."

TheDarknessReturn

"…quite like that. I'm not a solar panel." Bansha woke up to a quiet voice. Indigo? She lifted her head an inch, but flinched as a stab of pain went through her head and lowered it back to the ground. "Bansha? You awake?"

"Hm… yes." The ghost woman managed, not opening her eyes. "Head… hurts."

"You got clocked over the head. I'm not surprised." Another voice spoke, more quietly, and Indigo went back to talking to them. Bansha lay on the ground for a few minutes before the pain in her head subsided and she raised herself on her forearms, looking around. She was in a small, dark room with six cages. Two of them contained Indigo and another girl.

"What happened?" The blademistress asked, looking up at the other two. Indigo blinked.

"Uhh, someone knocked you out and I tried to beat them but I went… blind for a couple minutes or something and they locked us up here. And one of them has some kind of grudge against you, like Lloyd 2 has against our Morro. Except, she doesn't know you're a good guy. And she said something about making you pay. So watch out for her."

"Yes. Watch out for me." Bansha turned to see a teenage girl standing in the doorway of the room with her arms folded. Indigo pointed at her.

"Yep, that's her." The girl started at her for a few moments before saying,

"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"

"Like what?" The ghost raised an eyebrow."

"Like, 'Ahh, the mayor's little brat. I shouldn't have let you live'. That's how you talk, isn't it?"

"No. And I've never seen you before in my life." Bansha shrugged.

"Don't lie to me!" The girl slammed her fist against the doorframe, causing a cloud of dust to come down from the ceiling. "Don't tell me you're trying to pull the same charade as your friend! I'm not stupid!" The blademistress glanced quizzically at Indigo, who shrugged.

"I told her the truth, that we're from another timeline."

"Which is nonsense!" The girl snapped.

"Maybe so, but it's true."

"Liar!"

"Calling me a liar won't make it any less true."

"Shut up!" The girl punched the doorway again. "You'll pay for what you've done, mark my words! I just haven't found something good enough yet!"

"And what exactly is it that I've done?" Bansha asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I don't have to tell you that!" The girl whirled around and stormed out of the room.

"That probably gives us… until tomorrow." The other girl remarked from her cage.

"Bansha, this is Charlie." Indigo gestured to the dark-haired girl, who waved. "She's gonna help us escape."

"How?"

"When one of them gets close to me, I can drain their energy and use it to break the bars of the cages. Charlie has a gun, so she can shoot them – non-lethally – so we can escape. And she knows the area, so she can get us to safety."

"Ah." Bansha nodded. "So you believe us, then?" She addressed the human girl.

"Yep. I've heard weirder." Charlie shrugged.

"Alright. Though, how will you ensure they get close enough for you to drain them?" The ghost woman asked, turning back to Indigo.

"I'll make a lot of noise and annoy them until they have to shut me up." Bansha nodded.

"Yes, you're good at that." Indigo rolled her eyes.

"Thanks. So, when should we do it?"

"Whenever they come back." Charlie replied. "You could try yelling and hitting things now, but they might not hear you."

"Yeah, it'd be just a waste of breath." Indigo leaned back against the back of the cage. "Bansha, you feeling better?"

"Yes."

"Good. You're gonna need to be able to run when we bust out of here."

* * *

 **They'll be fiiiiiiine**

 **So I actually didn't write more than 1 chapter of this in advance because I like to alter the plot according to your feedback, but I did write 6-ish oneshots so I'll be posting those for the next week or so :D**

 **Hope you all have had a good 2 weeks!**

 **~FFF**


	17. Deal

**huff**

 **I'm sorry this took so long buuuuuuuut**

 **I got kittens! :D**

 **3 adorable kittens I named Cole, Lloyd, and Zane, and they take up a rather large amount of my time (read: I play with them instead of doing useful work)**

 **so that's why this is late lol**

 **Review replies:**

 **ninjachief: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

 **Ebony: We'll see.**

 **Amber: She doesn't want them starving to death before she can collect their bounty.**

 **Dreamcatchers: Thanks! ;)**

 **Windy: They are adorable, aren't they?**

 **KRR: idk I mean it appears to be canon so**

* * *

"Old McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!" Indigo sang, as loud and off-key as she could. "And on this farm he had some… bees. E-I-E-I-O!" In the doorway, Mira growled under her breath, pressing her hands over her ears.

"Will you _shut up?!_ " She snapped. Indigo blinked.

"Nah. With a bzz-bzz here and a bzz-bzz there, here a bzz, there a bzz, everywhere a bzz bzz-"

"Shut up, or I will _make you_ shut up!" The blond snapped.

"You do that." The ghost shrugged. "Old McDonald had a farm, E-" Abruptly, the room around her swirled with random colors, and she fell back with a squeak. Not this again. After a few moments, the colors faded, and Indigo stared at the ceiling for a few moments before shakily sitting up.

" _Now_ will you shut up?" Mira snapped, folding her arms.

"Did… you do that?" Indigo asked in surprise. "The colors?"

"Yes, and I'll do it again if you start singing again."

"Are you an elemental master?"

"Yes. Of illusions." The ghost girl frowned.

"You wouldn't happen to know a girl named Reena, would you?" The blond girl's eyes widened.

"Yes, she's my cousin. You know her?"

"Yeah, I met her in Morro's castle. She made me see things and hear things every time Morro went to interrogate my boyfriend." Indigo crossed her arms bitterly. "Just my luck. I get away from one hallucination lady only to be kidnapped by another."

"Hmph." Mira folded her arms back. "I still think you're lying."

"If I was lying, I would've come up with something more believable. Like 'I'm a poor little girl who got murdered by heartless brigands and this is my mom Bansha please let us go kay thanks'."

"That's not very convincing either."

"I would come up with something better. Anyway, my point is, why would I lie about something that sounds so stupid? What's the point?" Mira frowned.

"…maybe because you planned to use this argument to try to get us to believe it."

"I would also try to get you to believe the _truth_ , wouldn't I?" The blond girl pondered this for a few moments before finally saying,

"It's time for Nico's shift." And walking out of the room. Indigo sighed, lying back down on her cage floor. At least she had made some progress. Not much, but some was still better than none. Lying down on her back to look at the ceiling, Indigo wondered when they would get out of here – and whether they would leave alive.

TheDarknessReturn

"Guess what!" Lloyd was startled out of his half-sleep by a loud voice, and looked up, blinking sleepily. Clair was walking towards him, two sets of handcuffs in her hands. Uh oh. "Morro _finally_ accepted my message, and I told him that you're my prisoners, so, tldr, I'm taking you to his castle! You get to leave, aren't you excited?"

"…no?" Morro's voice came from above him. "As much as I hate this place, his castle is worse."

"Well, sucks to be you." Claire reached down to grab Lloyd's hands, but he yanked them away.

"No." He said stubbornly.

"Uh, Morro said he wanted you two 'unharmed and in chains', so… tough luck." She tapped his shoulder, then grabbed his wrists despite his attempt to dodge and binding them with one of the sets of chains. She then shoved him aside – with surprising strength – before chaining Morro's wrists as well. The ghost didn't resist, his hands were too fragile to do much of anything. They had started healing, but the slightest injury would probably make them break again. "Now get up, or I'll have Gray drag you."

"What are you getting out of this?" Lloyd asked, trying to stall her. Stalling probably wouldn't do any good, but he might as well try.

"Nobility status for Gray and I, and hundreds in gold coins!" The black-haired girl grinned, throwing her arms up above her head. "I should thank you. Running into you two was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I'm not inclined to say 'you're welcome'…" Morro muttered. "Lloyd, help me up?" The blond scrambled to his feet, taking one of the wind master's wrists and helping him stand.

"Now get moving! March! Mush! Heel!" Claire snapped her fingers, turning around and heading towards the exit. Morro and Lloyd exchanged glances, then followed, trying to shake the feeling of dread that hung over them.

Claire and Gray escorted them to the castle, Gray taking the rear and glaring at them ominously from under his hood as Claire lead them through the alleys. Lloyd shifted closer to Morro as they approached the imposing castle – he really wasn't looking forward to getting his legs chopped off, or whatever equally horrible thing the other Morro planned to do to him. They stopped at the gate, and had to wait for admittance before it opened, letting them into the courtyard. As they headed down the wide, stone walkway, Lloyd turned and hooked his cuffs over Morro's head, hugging him around his neck. Morro, unable to hug him back due to the fact that his own wrists were chained, just rested his chin on Lloyd's shoulder. The blond hugged him tight for a minute, squeezing his eyes shut. He and Morro would probably be separated, he wouldn't see him for who knows how long.

"Move it." Someone shoved him, and he lifted his head to see Gray standing behind them with a cross look on his face. Slowly, he let go of Morro and started walking again. After a couple minutes, they entered the castle, and walked down a long hallway for a while before making it to Morro's throne room. The king was sitting on his throne on the far side of the room, his chin casually resting on his palm. Since he didn't move to get up, Claire lead them down the carpet towards his throne, stopping about ten feet away from him.

"So you did manage to capture them." The ghost said at last.

"Of course I did." The dark-haired girl folded her arms. "They're yours. Now where's my reward?"

"I'll arrange for it immediately. Talk to Reena." Morro's double gestured to a girl standing at the far side of the room, and Claire and Gray headed towards her. "As for you two…" Morro 2 hopped off his throne and walked towards them, prompting Lloyd to step back a little. "Unless you have some kinda of healing magic, I'm going to guess you're a double of Lloyd like he's a double of me." He addressed Lloyd, gesturing to Morro. The blond stayed silent, shuffling another step back. "Answer me!" Morro 2 drew back a hand to hit him, but Morro 1 swept his leg under both of his, kicking his feet out from under him and sending him crashing to the ground with a grunt.

"You'll pay for that!" the ghost king snapped as he struggled back to his feet. "There's no one to save you this time. You will both be locked up here forever. And I'll do whatever I want with you. Except…" He turned to Lloyd, his face hard. "Surely you've seen what I've done to your counterpart. I can easily do the same to you – or worse. However, I might be persuaded not to, if…" the ghost trailed off.

"…if what?" Lloyd prompted after a few moments.

"If you tell me what's going on."

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me how _this-_ " He gestured to Morro 1. "-is possible. Why are there two of me? Why are there two of you? Explain this to me, and I won't hurt you." Lloyd hesitated. Was there any real harm in telling him that?

"…how do I know you won't break your promise and hurt me anyway?"

"Why would I do that? You beat up one Lloyd, you beat up them all. There's no gain to be had by chopping off your legs, except as incentive to get you to tell me what I want to know." Lloyd glanced at Morro, who shrugged.

"I…" It couldn't be a _good_ thing if Morro knew where they came from, but would it be worse for him, the green ninja, to be severely injured or killed, or for the tyrant to know about their timeline?

"Answer me _now!_ " Morro 2 grabbed his shoulder, shoving him and causing him to stumble backwards with a yelp. He opened his mouth to speak, but the ghost king grabbed him again. "I said answer me!"

"UNHAND MY SON THIS INSTANT!" Lloyd's heart leapt at the familiar voice, stumbling as Morro shoved him to the floor. Struggling to his knees, the blond turned to look over his shoulder, and his face broke into a grin.

"Dad!"

* * *

 **Tank vs burst - who will win?**

 **~FFF**


	18. Chapter 18

**I am on a roll so have a second chapter**

 **I have to leave in 10 minutes so no review replies but hey a showdown**

* * *

"Five little speckled frogs, sat on a speckled log, eating some most delicious bugs. Yum yum!" Indigo sang cheerfully, leaning against the back of her cage. "One jumped into the pool, where it was nice and cool, now there, are four green speckled frogs. Plop plop!"

"Stop it!" Nico yelled from the doorway, covering his ears. "Stop singing those stupid songs!"

"Will you let me go if I do?" the ghost fluttered her eyelids.

"No." The dark-haired boy folded his arms and pouted.

"Then I won't stop." Indigo had been singing for the last four hours, and Mira and Nico had switched out twice already. Lila was apparently off doing something else somewhere. "Four little speckled frogs, sat on a speckled log-"

"Alright, that does it!" Nico threw his staff to the floor and stomped forward, trying to grab her through the bars of her cage. She ducked under his arm and grabbed it, draining his energy until he passed out. Quickly, she grabbed the bars and wrenched them apart, slipping between them and hurrying over to Bansha's cage. The two others watched as she pulled apart Bansha's, then Charlie's cages, slipping through as well to join her.

"Let's sneak out if we can," Charlie hissed, pulling a handgun from a hidden holster. "but I don't think that'll be possible."

"Probably not." Bansha agreed, taking her staff from where it leaned against the wall. "Ready?" The other two nodded, then they started down the hallway together. They walked – or, in Bansha's case, floated – down the hallway in silence for a moment before a shout from their right startled them.

"The prisoners escaped! Lila, wake up!" The three started running – Indigo hadn't noticed the dark doorway that lead to a shared bedroom or something. When they heard footsteps running after them, Charlie turned around, raised her gun, and fired. Indigo heard shouts of shock, but not to pain, and the footsteps kept coming. Abruptly, flashing colors blocked out her view of the hallway, and the ghost girl skidded to a halt, afraid of running through a wall into the ocean. Not again. As she reached out for something to guide her, another gunshot rang out through the hall, this time accompanied by a scream of pain.

"MIRA!" Lila shrieked. The colors vanished, and Indigo turned to see the illusions master kneeling on the ground, Lila next to her, as she clutched her bleeding shoulder.

"Come on!" Charlie yelled, and Indigo stumbled forwards again. The three kept running as Lila yelled after them,

"GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARDS!" They ignored her, not even slowing down, just a little farther, and they would be home free.

TheDarknessReturn

"Dad!" Lloyd yelled, grinning broadly as he struggled to his feet. Standing across the room was his father, his staff in his hand and the ninja and their other allies standing behind him in the doorway. Even Jessica, who should not be here. He needed to talk to her about that. Morro 2 grabbed him by the collar, yanking him upright.

"You think that foolish old man can protect you from me?" He hissed. Lloyd just grinned.

"I know he can." Growling, the ghost king let go of him, throwing him against the wall with a gust of wind. The blond boy gasped as he hit the wall, coughing and wheezing to try to regain the breath knocked out of him. Morro 1 backed away as Lloyd's father began to approach the tyrant ghost.

"What are you going to do? Whack me with your cane?" The evil Morro mocked him, hunching over and mimicking limping along with a cane.

"And what are you going to do?" Lloyd's father asked coolly. "Ruffle my hair with a breeze?" Morro 2 growled, then sent a blast of wind at him, throwing him across the room into the wall and causing the elderly man to smash a foot into the stone. The evil ghost began to laugh, then froze, eyes flying open as Garmadon picked himself up and began to approach again.

"W-what- how-" the king stuttered.

"Nice breeze." Lloyd's father remarked with a casual smile. "I'm afraid you'll have to try harder than that."

"Die!" Morro 2 screamed, throwing him into the wall again, then lifting him up and smashing him into the floor. Garmadon stood up, unharmed, once more.

"I believe you chipped my staff." The elderly man remarked, inspecting the tip of his bamboo pole. "How rude."

"WHY!" Morro 2 slammed Garmadon into the floor. "WON'T!" He dragged him across the floor. "YOU!" He threw him into the wall. "DIE?!" He threw him up into the ceiling, then watched him fall. The evil ghost slumped down, panting softly, and he didn't notice when Morro 1 ran over to sit next to Lloyd. The tyrant let out a yell of frustration when Lloyd's father got to his feet once more. "Why aren't you getting hurt?" The ghost demanded.

"It's a very long story." Garmadon shrugged as he began to approach again.

"NO!" Morro's double screamed, shoving him back. "STOP!" the sensei kept coming. "I said stop! STOP!" the ghost was becoming increasingly frantic, his voice getting higher and higher pitched. He shoved Garmadon away over and over, creating huge holes in the walls and floor. He became more and more tired as he used his powers more, until he was on his hands and knees on the ground, panting in exhaustion. His 'gusts' were now barely a breeze, and Garmadon finally managed to approach him, stopping and standing over him.

"Kai, bring me the cuffs." He called. The fire ninja obeyed, crossing the room with a pair of black cuffs in one hand.

"NO!" Morro 2 gathered his strength and shoved him away again. "I won't let… you take away everything I've ever worked for…!"

"And we won't let you continue to ravage this world." Garmadon replied calmly, walking back towards him. Lloyd watched as the ghost king crumpled to the ground in exhaustion. He felt a bit sorry for him. Morro 2 looked frantic, horrified, almost like he was about to cry. Years of work were collapsing around him – both figuratively and literally. He was losing. But was such a horrible person even worthy of pity? After all he'd done? Morro 1 sat against the wall next to him, watching as Garmadon reached down to grab his double's wrists. The king pulled his hands away, growling under his breath, then pushed himself to his knees and sent a gust of wind, not towards Garmadon, but at the ceiling above him.

Lloyd's eyes widened in shock as the ceiling rumbled, then collapsed, large chunks of rock falling towards the two in the center of the room. Kai dove out of the way as a chunk hit the ground near him, and the rest stood in stunned silence as Garmadon and Morro 2 were buried. Lloyd held his breath as the dust began to settle. His dad was invincible, he couldn't be hurt, could he? What about the other Morro? Was he dead? After a few, tense moments, the rocks were shoved aside, and his father climbed out, unharmed.

"Dad!" Lloyd yelled, scrambling to his feet and running towards him, tackling him in a hug. His father chuckled as Lloyd buried his face in his shoulder, hooking his cuffed wrists over his head.

"I'm alright, son." He assured him.

"W-where's Morro?" the blond asked, lifting his head to look at the pile of rubble.

"He's dead." Garmadon announced. "The rocks hit him, and he vanished."

"Oh good." Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief. "But he'll be back."

"Indeed. We should get back to the base before his reinforcements show up." His father let go of him.

"Yeah." Lloyd nodded, pulling away. "Can you get these chains off?"

"Not without the key. We can break them when we get back." Garmadon raised his voice, addressing the others. "Let's get out of here before we're overrun."

"Agreed." Cole nodded, and the ground headed towards the exit, back to Stiix, and back to safety.

* * *

 **:)**

 **~FFF**


	19. Safety

**my kittens are such a floof**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: Morro 2 needs to eat a brick. Also... nothing is ever that easy. And nothing is as it seems.**

 **ninjachief: everyone loves garmadad ;) also yayy**

 **MLGbillcipher: We'll see :)**

 **NinjagoMLP: I'm sure she'll be fine. :D**

 **Zena: Lol**

 **Nicktastic: About time amiright?**

 **Amber: xD Yes. Kittens.**

* * *

Chapter 19

"Well that was exciting," Indigo remarked, leaning back against the wall of the building they stood behind.

"Indeed." Bansha muttered, staring out at the city with her staff in hand. After escaping their prison, the three had fled up to the surface level, taking refuge behind a building to keep from being spotted by a patrol. "Charlie, where do we go from here?"

"Well, where do you wanna go? Ninjago City?"

"No, we need to get back to the base." Indigo frowned. "You wouldn't happen to have a submarine, would you?"

"No, but I do have something better." There was a click from the gun.

"What's that?" The void mistress tilted her head.

"This!" Charlie spun around and fired, the bullet whistling past Indigo's ear. She heard a gasp from Bansha, and whirled around to see the older ghost crumpling to the ground, a black bullet embedded in her lower leg. Indigo's head snapped back towards Charlie, her mouth open to demand why she had done that, but froze at the sight of the gun pointed at her head. "Unless you have a death wish, put your hands on your head. Now!" the human girl barked, and Indigo grudgingly obeyed. "Both of you!" the void mistress turned to see Bansha shifting her weight to her good leg, grimacing as she set her hands on top of her head.

" _Every_ time…" the older woman muttered under her breath.

"Okay, first question, _how_ did you shoot Bansha? She's a ghost!" Indigo snapped, her eyes narrowed.

"You think I would work in a world full of ghosts and not carry deepstone bullets?" Charlie smirked, putting her free hand on her hip.

"Fair enough. Second question, _why?_ I thought we were on the same side! We helped you escape!"

"Think it through, you stupid ghost. They're the good guys. If they had me locked up, what does that make me?"

"Still, we helped you escape!"

"I was using you! You were dumb enough to break me out, that doesn't make us buddies!" Indigo clenched her teeth.

"Fine. Third question, what are you gonna do to us now? Shoot us and leave us for dead?"

"Oh, no, no. I'm going to turn you in to Bansha's army, which, by the way, I am a part of. They'll see to it that you get a suitable punishment for defying Morro."

"You backstabbing little-" Bansha started, but Charlie cut her off."

"Quiet! Or I'll shoot you again!" She waved her gun threateningly. "Now get up! I'm not leaving to-" The dark-haired girl broke off in surprise as the ground began to shake. A low rumbling filled the city, then, to the girls' shock, the ground began to fall into the sea, starting from the center of the city and spreading outwards. Indigo moved to stand up, to flee, but Charlie cocked her gun, focusing it on her head. "Don't move!" She snapped. "Or I'll-" The platform underneath her collapsed, and she fell into the churning ocean with a scream. Indigo scrambled to her feet, grabbing Bansha's sleeve and trying to pull her upright.

"Come on!" She urged her. The blademistress struggled to her feet, stumbling along as the smaller ghost dragged her away from the collapsing floorboards. Finally, the city shuddered, and stopped falling apart. The two ghosts collapsed behind a stack of boxes, Bansha clutching her injured leg with one hand as Indigo flopped over on her back.

"Well that was intense."

"Hnn." Was all Bansha said in reply. The void mistress looked up at her, frowning at the sight of the bullet embedded in her leg.

"Do you think you can walk?"

"I can, but it's not easy, and very painful."

"Oh. I can try to find you a crutch or something, or you can lean on me."

"What's the point?" Bansha shook her head. "We don't know where Morro and Lloyd are. We don't know if they made it back. We can't get even close to the base, or we'll get captured again. I don't know what in Ninjago we're going to do." Indigo sat there in stunned silence. Yeah, it did seem kinda hopeless.

"…we should at least try to get that bullet of your leg." She said at last.

"And how do you propose we do that?" The blade mistress snapped. "Find a human and just have them rip it out of my leg?"

"I don't know." Indigo lay down again, rolling onto her side and hugging her arms to her chest.

Bansha was right, there was no easy way to get it out without hurting her. The ghost girl rested her head on her arms, staring at the crashing waves through a crack in the floorboards. Bansha was also right about another thing: she had no idea what in Ninjago to do now.

TheDarknessReturns

"What… happened to Stiix?" Kai 1 asked, his voice stunned. None of the others had answer. The entire center of the city had collapsed, pieces of wood floating in the water with people still clinging to it. The only part of the city left was the outside: a ring of half-intact building and walkways.

"Oh, the missile!" Morro spoke up. "I told the other Morro that our base was in the center of Stiix, underwater. When he tried to blow that up, he blew up half of the city!"

"And our real base is unharmed. Ca-ching!"Jay pumped his fist into the air with a grin. Beaming, Lloyd turned to see his father's reaction, and was surprised to see him scowling at the remains of the city.

"Uh-Dad? You okay?" He asked. His father blinked, then shook his head a bit.

"Ah, of course. I was just… appalled, that Morro would destroy almost an entire city just to take us out." Lloyd frowned.

"Yeah. He is pretty ruthless."

"Indeed." Garmadon started towards the bridge. "Let's get going." The others nodded and began to file across the bridge behind him. When he reached the other side, Lloyd's father stopped, glancing back and forth.

"What's the matter?" Cole 2 asked.

"I, er, don't remember the way back." The elderly man admitted. "Though I'm not sure if it's just because of the collapse of the city or not."

"Probably the change of scenery is messing you up. I'll take point." Kai 2 shrugged, moving to the front of the group. Garmadon nodded, falling into step beside Lloyd.

The party picked their day through the remains of Stiix, going completely unnoticed in the chaos. Their journey was mostly uneventful, until they got close to the base and heard a voice call out,

"Morro! Lloyd!" Someone slammed into Morro from the side, knocking him to the ground, and Lloyd whirled around in alarm to see Indigo on top of him, hugging him tightly as she buried her face in his neck. Morro chuckled, returning her hug.

"Careful. I'm not quite healed yet."

"You're okay!" She continued as though she hadn't heard him. "Bansha and I were so worried when you didn't show up! What happened?"

"It's a long story. Where is Bansha?"

"Oh, she's over here." She climbed off him and stood up. "She got shot."

"Shot?" Lloyd echoed in surprise.

"Also a long story. C'mon." Indigo waved them on as she headed down an alley, and Morro and Lloyd followed her. After a moment, she lead them into a dead-end passage, mostly blocked off by boxes, behind which was, sure enough, Bansha, her hand on her swollen leg. She looked up as Morro and Lloyd came into view, eyes narrowed at first, then widened in shock.

"How…" She trailed off.

"We were heading off to base and Indigo ran into us. What happened to you?" Morro asked, kneeling next to her.

"I got shot by a traitorous snake of a girl." The ghost woman hissed, clutching her leg tighter. Morro and Lloyd exchanged glances, then Lloyd bent down and picked her up.

"We need to get that bullet out of you…" he muttered.

"How?" Bansha asked, shifting so her head was pillowed on his shoulder.

"Well, the best way would probably be just one of us reaching through you and pulling it out, since the alternative is digging it out with a knife or something." The ghost woman grimaced.

"I suppose."

"Good. Now let's get you back underwater. Once we're in the base, we'll be safe."

"We can only hope..." Bansha muttered, closing her eyes. Indigo followed behind Morro as Lloyd lead them back to the others, stopping next to him once they rejoined them there.

"Is the base nearby?" She asked. "We lost track of it when we were running away from the collapsing part of the city."

"Yeah, it's close." Jay 2 nodded. "We can exchange stories – and have a talk with Lloyd about running away – once we get there." The blond boy chuckled awkwardly, shifting Bansha in his arms.

"Er… yeah. I mean, it was Bansha's idea."

"But I wasn't specifically ordered not to." The ghost woman spoke up coolly.

"…right." Lloyd shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Yeah, um… Morro was in trouble. You guys refused to believe it, so…"

"I said once we get back." Jay 2 started walking again.

"Whatever." The green ninja started walking in the direction of the base again. With any luck, they would get back to safety without any more trouble.

* * *

 **Wow, it... actually looks like something good happened for once.**

 **What are the odds of that amiright?**

 **~FFF**

 **P.S. Not sure if I'm gonna work on this or the rewrite of RttCR (because I was paging through that again and boy is it cringy) next so I can't guarantee this will be updated promptly**

 **At least I'm not leaving you on a cliffhanger :D**


	20. Chapter 20

***twitch voice* SURPRISE! I'm BACK!**

 **Review replies:**

 **NinjagoMLP: :D**

 **Ninjachief: I mean... The plot was okay. Good, even. But my writing style has improved quite a bit since then, and now it makes me cringe to read my old stuff. Bansha's army is a bit out of commission at the moment, fortunately for our heroes.**

 **Ebony: Lucky for Indigo and Bansha, isn't it? If the city hadn't collapsed at that moment...**

 **Nicktastic: No idea :)))**

 **Rosalina: Like I said to ninjachief, the plot is pretty good, but the writing could be better. I plan to fix at least the first 10 chapters or so.**

 **Samantha: Ayyy congrats! :D**

 **Windy: Yes... reunited... :))**

 **Amber: :))))))))))))))))))))))**

* * *

Chapter 20

Much to Lloyd's surprise, absolutely nothing bad happened on the way back to the base.

Or much of anything, really. There was almost no talking, the party returned to the base in near silence. While they were waiting for the submarine Nya sent to arrive, both Bansha and Indigo looked a bit nervous, though, when Lloyd asked, they waved him off and said they would explain later. Finally, the sub arrived, and they all crammed into it – both Coles, Morro, and Indigo had to possess small objects so there was enough room.

Once they were back, they began to fill everyone in on what had happened since they split up. Well, most of them. Sensei took Morro and Bansha to get the bullet out of the blademistress' leg. In the meantime, Lloyd and Indigo took turns explaining to each other, as well as the rescue party, exactly what had happened since Morro 1 and Indigo had been left behind in Morro's base. A couple times, Lloyd noticed his dad hurrying out of the room. Was he sick or something? He should ask when they were done talking. If something was wrong with his father, he should be the one to help.

TheDarknessReturn

"…then we got out and hid, but Charlie shot Bansha and then the city collapsed." Indigo made expressive gestures with her hands to illustrate. "She fell into the water. I don't know if she can swim or not, if she can't, she's probably dead. Bansha and I ran. A few hours after that, I ran into you guys." The ghost girl let her hands fall to the table. "Obviously, you know the rest."

"So there are other fighters." Kai mused, drumming his fingers on the table. "Maybe we should contact them. So we can work together."

"I think they'll be pretty salty about me and Bansha being here." Indigo shook her head. "They never believed us about the whole other timeline thing."

"Well, they'll probably believe you once they see all the doubles we have." Jay B pointed out.

"True." Morro's girlfriend frowned. "I dunno. You could try."

"Well, what should we do now they Morro's dead?" Kai B asked.

"He's going to come back, probably pretty quickly." Cole A said. "We might've missed our chance to do anything. We should've stayed, tried to cause more chaos while we were at it."

"We couldn't risk anyone getting captured again." Garmadon spoke up quickly. "That would make us have to do all that over again."

"We caused significant damage, and we showed Morro and his subjects that he's not invincible." Kai B slammed his fist into his open hand. "That's enough for now." Garmadon chuckled softly.

"No," he murmured. "Not invincible at all." Lloyd B gave him a curious look, then turned back to the others.

"I think we should try to take Stiix." He announced. "It's weak, Morro blew up their base and half the city. Bansha and her army must be mostly dead, it should be easy to take over!"

"Good plan!" Zane B nodded. "Nya can use the sea to defend it against any attacks. And all we have to do to get rid of the remaining ghosts is a heavy, unexpected rainstorm."

"Sounds good to me." Nya B grinned. "With me defending it, there'll be no way for him to take it back, anyone he sends will be wiped out in seconds!" Kai smiled as his sister slammed her fist down on the table. Well – she wasn't his _real_ sister. His real sister was locked up somewhere, in Bansha's base. Except… wait. Bansha's base was destroyed. If Nya was in there… where was she now?

"Whoa. What happened here?" Kai's head snapped up to see a soaking-wet figure standing in the doorway across the room. A figure with shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. And a blue-and-red ninja gi.

"NYA!" He yelled, scrambling to his feet and running across the room towards her. He tackled her in a hug and knocked her to the floor, wrapping his arms around her neck as she laughed and not even caring that he was getting himself all wet. "You're- how did you- how are you-" he stammered until she cut him off.

"When the city collapsed, my cell splintered and I escaped into the ocean. I used my powers to get here safely. Who needs a submarine when you have water powers?" She chuckled. "But… why are there so many doubles of people? Who are they?" She pointed to Jessica and Indigo.

"It's a long story." Kai sat up, getting off of her. "I'll explain in a minute. I just… man, I'm so glad you're back."

"My turn!" Jay A ran over and knelt next to her, hugging her and nuzzling her hair as she giggled. She kissed him on the cheek, then turned to the others.

"Has everyone been okay? Any more lost limbs?"

"Almost, at least." Lloyd A chuckled, looking down at his leg in a cast. "I'll heal."

"Good." Nya stood up, shaking out her wet gi. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go change. Walking around completely soaked is hard, even for a water ninja. Is all my stuff still in the same place?"

"Yeah. Except the stuff I stole." Kai nodded.

"And the stuff I stole." Jay A mumbled. Nya laughed.

"At least some stuff is there. I'm gonna shower and change, then you can tell me what the heck's going on. Okay?"

"Okay." Jay A squeezed her one more time, then let her go. "I should go change too."

"And me." Kai added. "Walking around with wet clothes is no fun, _especially_ for a fire ninja."

"Since you three are leaving, let's postpone the meeting for a few minutes, 'kay?" Lloyd A said. "Give Kai and Jay a few minutes with Nya."

"That's a good start, anyway." Kai nodded, hurrying off down a corridor to get changed. They might be living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland ruled by an evil tyrant… but he had his sister back. And that was all that mattered.

TheDarknessReturn

"Dad?" Lloyd finally caught up to his father, who had just hurried off and vanished again. "Dad!" He said again, as the older man didn't appear to have heard him. His father jumped, then turned around.

"Oh, Lloyd." He smiled, but it looked forced. "Did you need something?"

"You've been acting funny." The blond said bluntly, getting straight to the point. "Are you okay?"

"Funny?" His father raised an eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You keep, like, mumbling to yourself and hurrying out of the room. You did it four or five times during the meeting. Are you sick? What's wrong?" His father stood there for a few moments, looking stunned, before shaking his head slightly.

"I… confess I've been a bit overwhelmed." He shrugged slightly. "Not to mention annoyed at you running away."

"Yeah… sorry." But you know what he did to Morro, and tried to do to Indigo, so I would do it again if I had to."

"Lloyd, those two are expendable. You're the green ninja, you're more important."

"'Expendable'?!" Lloyd straightened up to his full height, clenching his hands into fists. "They're my _friends!_ "

"But they are not as important as your safety."

"I'm the green ninja, but I'm a person too! I have thoughts and feelings! I can't help it that I care about them!"

"Then control your emotions. Center yourself."

"I couldn't just leave them there!"

"Why not?"

"Morro was hurting them!"

"They will heal. Even if he killed them, they are ghosts. They would reform."

"Oh, so I can just jump off a roof and it'll be okay because 'I'll heal'?"

"No, because we need you unharmed."

"I'm not more important than them just because I'm the green ninja!"

"Yes you are."

"And why is that?! Morro and Indigo are elemental master just like me!"

"But neither of them is the green ninja." Lloyd groaned loudly, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Something is definitely wrong with you! You never act like this! I know you care about Morro and Indigo, why are you acting this way?!" His father glanced back and forth, then sighed.

"I should tell you something. But… let's go somewhere more private first. Come with me." The elderly man started down the hallway, and Lloyd followed, frowning. His father lead him through the base until he reached the room he shared with Wu, glancing back and forth down the hall to make sure no one was nearby before beckoning his son inside.

"So what's this thing you need to tell me?" Lloyd asked as his father walked over into the corner and stood, facing the wall with his hands clasped behind his back. "Dad?" his father sighed.

"That wish you made with Nadakhan… it didn't make me immune to everything."

"W-what?" Lloyd said in surprise, alarm rising in the pit of his stomach. Was he hurt? Was his invincibility wearing off? Had he been injured when Morro knocked those rocks down on him? "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." Dad replied, not turning around.

"So…" Lloyd trailed off for a moment. "What aren't you immune to?" His father was still for a few, long moments, then spun around, staring him in the eyes – his father's, instead of their normal grey, were a shocking green. In a voice not his own, he hissed a single word.

" _Possession._ "

* * *

 **be honest- how many of you had any idea something was wrong before the last section of the chapter? (Zena and Chan, you don't count, I told you)**

 **~FFF**

 **P.S. If you listen closely you might hear me snickering**


	21. Chapter 21

**hi I don't have much time but have a chapter**

* * *

Chapter 21

 _Possession._ The word echoed through Lloyd's mind multiple times before he registered it, the puzzle pieces falling into place as he stared into his father's eyes. Green eyes. Strange voice. "Possession". His father was possessed. And Morro had never died.

"No…" He managed to choke out after a few moments.

"Oh, yes." Morro's voice was obvious now, and he grinned, leaning back as Lloyd's father's hair darkened to black and his skin became a sickly green. "Your father really didn't put up much of a fight. I guess he's not used to having to try. That's your fault, isn't it?"

"My fault?"

"If you hadn't made him invincible, he would be stronger." Lloyd frowned for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.

"If I hadn't wished him invincible, he would be killed then you dropped those rocks on him." The blond straightened up, taking a fighting stance.

"One would almost think you had a spine." Morro rolled his eyes. "I should probably tell you – your father isn't taking this well at all. It's been a long time since he's felt pain." Lloyd's hands clenched into fists.

"Don't you DARE hurt him!"

"Too late." Morro snickered.

"Get out of his body!" The blond yelled. "Right now!"

"Why would I do that when I can do this?" The possessed man stepped forward and grabbed Lloyd by the neck, lifting him up in the air and ignoring his struggles. After a few moments of letting the boy choke, Morro threw him to the ground, dazing him. "Even if you wanted to, you can do nothing to me in this body!" He cackled. "Your father is the perfect host. But I am a merciful king. I'll let him go…" His eyes glinted. "…in exchange for you."

"No!" Lloyd shouted, scrambling dizzily to his feet. "I don't need to make a deal with you, I'll get you out of him myself!"

"You think you can force me out?" Morro 2 chuckled. "I'm _invincible_ now, remember? How do you plan to beat me now, when you couldn't even beat me by myself? Your father is weak. He's been possessed before – by something much stronger than me." Oh no. The Overlord. Because of him, his father's mental defenses were too poor for him to fight Morro off. As Lloyd stood there, trying to think of a way to get Morro out, his possessed father picked him up and slammed him into the wall.

"Ugh!" Lloyd gasped as he slid down to the floor.

"It doesn't matter if you won't give me your body. Because I'm going to take it anyway." Morro hissed. The blond struggled to his knees. He had to get the others. If Morro possessed him, the others had to know. Lloyd stumbled to his feet, staggering towards the doorway.

"Lloyd, don't you know it's rude to leave before the party's over?" A hand grabbed his shoulder, and he spun around, charging an orb of light and slamming it into his father's chest to send him flying into the opposite wall. Without waiting to see if he was alright – he knew he was – Lloyd turned back to the doorway, running dizzily towards the closed door. He made it without Morro stopping him, and turned the knob, taking a breath to call for help as he pulled the door open.

"HE-" was as far as he got before a hand grabbed the side of his head and slammed it into the doorframe. Lloyd let out a strangled cry as he collapsed, his head spinning and vision wavering. Morro grabbed him by the foot, dragging him back into the room and slamming the door. When he let go, Lloyd pushed himself up onto his forearms, trying to crawl back to the door but collapsing halfway there. His head was pounding with pain, and he barely heard the groan, followed by a thud, behind him.

The next thing he registered was a cold finger tracing the curve of his chin, and he jerked away, eyes flying open to see evil Morro crouching beside him. Alone. Where was his father? With effort, the blond managed to lift his head enough to see his father's shaking form on the ground on the other side of the room.

"D-dad!" He called out weakly. Morro 2 rolled his eyes.

"He'll be fine. You, on the other hand…" The ghost's eyes swept over his body and he shuddered. "You seem relatively unharmed." He remarked. "No missing or deformed limbs, no major scars. Whatever happened in your world after I _didn't_ take over must've been pretty peaceful." Lloyd managed a bark of laughter.

"Y-you have no idea…" A second later, his eyes widened. "…my world."

"Oh, yes, I know everything about you and your world. It didn't take long to extract the information from your father's memories." The ghost king smirked. "And anything more I can get out of yours."

"N-no!" Lloyd rolled away, charging a ball of green energy with the last of his strength – and slamming it into the wall. There was a sound of breaking metal, then water began to gush through the newly made hole in the wall. Morro let out an angry yell, scrambling to his feet as the cold water began to flow around Lloyd. _Man,_ that was cold. Lloyd hugged his arms to his chest, shivering violently. At least it numbed the pain from being slammed into the walls. But if the room filled up with water, he and his father would both drown. Well, he would, anyway. His father was probably immune to drowning. Though, with what just happened, he really couldn't be sure.

Shivering, Lloyd struggled to his knees, crawling over to the door and opening it. The water would flow out instead of filling up the room, and eventually someone would notice. All he could do now was wait for help to arrive – and try not to fall asleep.

TheDarknessReturn

"Well that… could've been worse." Bansha mumbled, running her hand down her bandaged leg.

"You got yourself all worked up for nothing." Morro patted her shoulder, and she turned her head to glare at him.

"I did not get 'all worked up'." She griped. "I-" She broke off with a gasp, staring past him with wide eyes. Morro turned around, and was equally shocked to see a shallow stream of watcher trickling through the doorway towards them.

"Um…" He pushed the water back with his powers, pushing it into the hallway outside. "I'll just go see what's going on." He stepped into the hall, glancing back and forth. No one in sight. "Guys?" He yelled down in the direction of the meeting room. "Why is there water in the base?"

There was silence for a moment, then Kai 1, Nya 1, and Cole 2 appeared at the other end of the hallway. The three exchanged murmured questions for a moment before Nya stepped to the front of the group and began to follow the trail of water, picking it up and putting it in a ball that hovered at her side as she went. The other three followed as she picked up the water, which eventually lead to – oddly enough – the Sensei's room. Nya pushed the door all the way open, then gasped loudly.

"Lloyd! Garmadon!" She exclaimed. Morro pushed past the others to see, and his eyes widened in panic. Lloyd and his father were lying together on the floor in half an inch of water, the source of which being a hole in the wall by the door. Lloyd's lips and fingers were blue, and his pale fingers were clutching his father's sleeves. Shaking her head rapidly, Nya collected all the water in the room, shoving it back out through the hole in the wall and holding it out. "Morro, Cole, get the others. They're soaked and you can't touch them." The water mistress ordered. "Kai, try to get Lloyd warm." The three obeyed, Morro and Cole running off back down the hall as Kai knelt by the two on the ground, pulling Lloyd into his lap and lighting his hand on fire. Cole got to the meeting room first, and yelled,

"Everyone! Lloyd and his dad are hurt! Come help!" Before turning around and running back. Morro had already turned around, figuring Cole would be enough, heading back to the Sensei's room and watching as the Smith siblings tried to warm the pair. Nya was carefully extracting the water from the two's hair and clothing while Kai held a flame next to Lloyd's hands, trying to get them back to their normal color. A minute later, the rest flooded through the doorway, talking urgently with each other before transporting the two to the medical bay, wrapping them in blankets, and l warming them as quickly as they could.

Morro, unable to help due to them being not quite dry, could only wonder how they got like that. How did the hole get there? Why didn't they run, or get help? Why did they just lie there until they passed out? A closer examination revealed bruises on Lloyd's forehead, arms, and back. How did he get hurt? What had happened in there? Unfortunately, there was no way to know for sure until they woke up, so Morro just sat by Lloyd, hoping and praying that he would be alright.

* * *

 **:)**

 **~FFF**


	22. Chapter 22

**Sooo**

 **I watched Hands of Time**

 **I a Y**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: :)**

 **ninjachief: I was gonna do what we were talking about but then I had a thought that was MORE evil... :D**

 **NinjagoMLP: He's fiiiiiine. Probably.**

 **Binx: probably.**

 **Amber: Yep.**

 **Windy: :)**

 **Samantha: :))**

 **HS1274281: He's a ghost.** **¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

* * *

Lloyd awoke to a warm hand on his forehead.

"…seems to be warming up fine, and he doesn't have a fever. And he's not blue anymore." A hand took his and pulled it out from under the warm blanket that lay over him. "See? His fingers are back to their normal color."  
"Good." Another voice replied – Kai. "How's Garmadon doing?"

"He hasn't woken up either, but he doesn't seem like he was affected by the cold like Lloyd was." The first voice, Gin's, answered. "Of course, that does beg the question: why is he unconscious?"

"Yeah." Morro's voice joined in. "And why didn't Lloyd go for help? And why is he all beat up?"

"We'll just have to wait until he wakes up for an answer." Gin spoke again. Yeah, they would. Wait, he was awake. Shaking his head slightly and flinching at the pain in his forehead, Lloyd blinked his eyes open, squinting in the bright light.

"He's awake!" Kai moved into his field of vision, smiling. "How're you feeling? What happened to you?"

"I…" He croaked, then coughed to clear his throat. "I-I was fighting Morro, he d-didn't die he was possessing my dad…" The others gasped, almost in unison.

"No. He's alive?!" Gin demanded.

"And he possessed Garmadon? I thought he was invincible!" Morro protested.

"Quiet, both of you!" Kai scolded them. "Lloyd, tell us what happened. From the beginning."

"My dad kept wandering off, so I f-followed him…" His voice was a bit stronger now. "…to ask if he was okay. He s-said he was disappointed in me for running away, then rambled some stuff about how I-I'm the green ninja so I'm m-more important than Morro and I-Indigo." He paused to take a breath. "Then he took me to h-his room and revealed that h-he was evil Morro possessing him, and he beat me up until I c-couldn't get up and then was gonna possess me, but I broke a hole in the wall and he ran… so I opened the door and h-hoped you guys would see the water and find us…"

"Which we did." Kai finished quietly. "So… unless he was killed by the water, the other Morro is still in our base." Lloyd's eyes widened. He hadn't thought about that.

"Y-you can't l-let him g-get t-to my d-dad!" he stuttered. "H-he'll hurt him!"

"Don't worry, we won't." Kai assured him. "We'll have everyone stick together, if evil Morro tries to make a move, we'll catch him in the act." Lloyd wasn't much calmed by this.

"W-where's my dad?" He asked, struggling to sit up but falling back with a grunt as pain flared in his forehead. Kai gently helped him upright.

"He's there, see?" The fire ninja pointed at the other bed in the small room, and a closer look revealed that, yes, his father lay there under the blanket.

"W-were you watching him?" Lloyd asked nervously. "W-what if he's already been possessed by him? M-Morro knows how to act like him, w-we won't know!" The blond felt close to tears, until Morro stood up.

"How about this:" The ghost started. "I'll go over and possess him, just for a second. He's unconscious, so he won't feel it. But if the other me is in him, I'll know. Okay?" Biting his lip, Lloyd nodded slightly. "Okay." The wind master walked around his bed, stopping next to his father and putting a hand on the elderly man's arm. For a couple seconds, he vanished into him, then reappeared.

"He's fine." He reported, and Lloyd let out the breath he had been holding.

"I-is he unconscious or just asleep?"

"I couldn't tell.

"Can I try to- ah!" Lloyd started to move to stand, but pain shot through his leg when he shifted it. "Ow."

"What hurts?" Kai asked, pulling the blanket back.

"My leg- ahh!" The blond started to point to the bruise on his leg, but his arm flared with pain as well. "Arm too."

"You got a pretty nasty beating." Gin warned, stepping closer. "Satay still."

"Uh-huh." Lloyd almost nodded, but decided against it. "C-can one of you try to w-wake my dad?" Kai nodded, walking over and shaking his dad gently.

"Sensei Garmadon?" He said aloud. At first, the grey-haired man was unresponsive, but, after a few moments, his eyes fluttered open.

"Lloyd!" he exclaimed, shooting upright and nearly knocking his head into Kai's.

"Hey, careful there." The fire ninja leaned back. "Lloyd's fine. He's right behind me." Lloyd's father looked over, his eyes widening at the sight of his son's bruises.

"Lloyd, I-I'm so sorry…" he stammered, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up.

"For what?" the blond asked, tilting his head.

"I let Morro take over, I hurt you, I beat you…"

"J-just 'cause you couldn't stop it doesn't mean it's your fault…" Lloyd shook his head. "I'm just glad _you're_ okay…"

"Me?" His father knelt next to his bed. "You were the one who was beaten until you couldn't even crawl!" Lloyd heard some worried murmurs from the other three.

"But you were possessed! I know how horrible that feels. And he made me hurt you, you didn't do that! It's not your fault."

"But still…" His father shook his head, looking down. Slowly, carefully, Lloyd reached his uninjured arm over, placing it on his father's shoulder.

"It's not your fault." He said again. The older man lifted his head, then stood and sat down on the bed next to him, gently wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Lloyd tucked his head into the crook of his neck, closing his eyes as he wrapped his good arm around his father's back. They stayed like that for a long time, neither one moving. Finally, his father pulled away.

"You should see Andreea about those bruises." He instructed. "She should be able to heal them." Lloyd nodded slightly.

"Okay."

"I'll get everyone together – warn them about Morro." Kai spoke up. "I'll send Andree here, Lloyd, you're in no condition to walk, or even be moved, in that state.

"Yeah." The blond didn't let go of his father's arm. He didn't want to be separated from him, even if just by only a couple inches. He didn't want to risk Morro catching him again. Of course, he must've been out for at least a few hours… what if Morro had already possessed someone? He shuddered at the thought.

"Attention everyone!" Nya's voice – which one, he couldn't tell – crackled through the intercom. "Evil Morro is in the base, I repeat, evil Morro is in the base. Everyone report to the meeting room. Except Andreea, who needs to go to the medical bay to heal Lloyd." There was a click, then Lloyd heard footsteps echoing through the base. After a minute, the pink ninja appeared, hurrying to his bedside and clicking her tongue.

"You got yourself pretty beat up, kid."

"I'm the same age as your boyfriend." He raised an eyebrow.

"You act younger." The diamond mistress shrugged, then placed a hand over the bruise on his forehead. He flinched, but relaxed as the pain subsided. She did the same for his arm, and leg, and his side, before running out of energy. Just as Lloyd was about to respond that he was fine now, a scream rang out through the base. Quickly, Lloyd slid out of bed, but doubled over as pain shot through his chest.

"Maybe you should stay in bed…" His father cautioned as he helped him stand.

"N-no…" the blond said through gritted teeth. "We gotta join the o-others… can't let Morro catch us alone…"

"Alright." His father put an arm around his shoulders, holding him upright. "Let's go find who made that noise."

* * *

 ***yang voice* some girl's in trouble!**

 **~FFF**


	23. Sinking Hopes

**Happy Memorial Day, y'all.**

 **Review replies:**

 **Zena: :))**

 **Ebony: Well, uh... you're not wrong. :DD**

 **Ninjachief: You are wrong. So far.**

 **NinjagoMLP: If you thought that chapter was great, just wait till you see this one.**

 **Amber: Well, it makes perfect sense. And wouldn't it be great for her to get a new body in canon?  
**

 **Samantha: Of course he is.**

* * *

Chapter 23

"Steady." Lloyd's father said as his son stumbled, clutching his arm for support. "I hear voices, we must be close." Sure enough, when the two turned the former, they found the rest of their allies, murmuring worriedly as they stood around Andreea and a figure lying facedown on the floor. Harry?

"Lloyd!" Someone tackle-hugged him from the side, and he fell, letting out a pained grunt as he hit the ground. "Sorry, sorry!" Jessica quickly apologized, getting off of him.

"It's okay." He gave her a pained smile.

"Still sorry. And, I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. Gin was having me braid her hair." Lloyd shot a look at his sister, who shrugged.

"What?"

"…okay. What happened to Harry?" The blond asked as his girlfriend helped him sit up.

"Don't know yet. He screamed and we found him on the ground. I hope-" Jessica was cut off by a groan from the telepath, and all eyes turned to the boy on the floor as he lifted his head, pushing himself up onto his forearms and looking around at everyone.

"What happened? What's everyone doing here?"

"You screamed, and we found you on the ground." Andreea explained. "Do you remember why?"

"Uh… yeah." He pushed himself up onto his knees. "I… Morro appeared out of nowhere, and possessed me. He rifled through my memories for a bit, then left, picking me up and throwing me into the ground." Lloyd winced.

"I guess it was too much to hope that he had gotten killed by the water." Nya 1 shook her head. "Everyone, let's get to the meeting room and wait for him to make his move." The others murmured in agreement, Andreea and Jessica helping Harry and Lloyd to their feet before the group began to move towards the meeting room.

The next half hour passed very slowly.

The good guys sat around in the large meeting room, making small talk or just looking around tensely as the minutes ticked by. Tension in the room grew higher and higher, until Harry finally blurted,

"This is all your fault, Lloyd!" Both Lloyds turned to look at him in shock.

"…mine?" Lloyd 2 spoke up hesitantly.

"No, his!" The telepath pointed accusingly at Lloyd. "If you hadn't gone off after your stupid friends like that, your father wouldn't have gotten possessed trying to bail you out, and Morro wouldn't be here!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Kai 1 shot back. "Lloyd and Bansha had a plan, they can't help it that they didn't account for a couple of people they didn't know existed!"

"And even if they didn't, Morro and Indigo are worth it!" Jessica chimed in.

"No they're not!" Harry snapped. "They're not worth risking the lives of everyone here!"

"If it's anyone's fault, it's yours, Harry." Gin growled. "You're a telepath. You should've noticed Garmadon was possessed." The psychic looked taken aback.

"I-"

"Not to mention," Jay 2 added. "If you had stopped Lloyd when you first found out about it, he never would have left. You could've stopped this at the beginning, but you didn't. That makes it your fault."

"I- I-" Harry stammered, then narrowed his eyes, growling under his breath. "I'm done with this!" Throwing his arms out to the sides, the telepath created a gale around him that sent everyone else in the room flying into the walls. Sitting up, dazed, Lloyd could only watch as Harry's body crumpled to the ground, and Morro's ghostly form floated up out of him. Of course, he was so stupid! Why hadn't he suspected that Morro had never left Harry's body? Harry was cranky, but not that cranky! The blond struggled to stand, but his limbs refused to obey him, frozen with panic and shock as Morro approached him.

"Stop right there!" One of the Coles tackled him, knocking the ghost king to the ground. "Nya, kill him!" The earth master yelled as Morro struggled. Nya 1 stepped forward, shooting a jet of water at the squirming ghost. At the last second, the wind master managed to free one hand, redirecting the water with a gust of wind and scattering it over Cole. The black ninja screamed as the spray burned him, curling up to shield his chest and allowing Morro to squirm free.

"Oh no!" Nya 1 exclaimed in a shrill voice, running to Cole's side as Morro stalked towards Lloyd again. The other Cole ran between them. Protectively holding his arms out to keep the ghost king from coming any closer. When Morro tried to shove him aside, Cole grabbed his wrist and threw him across the room. Nya 2 took a shot at him as well, but he blew it away once more.

"This is pointless!" Evil Morro hissed, getting to his feet. "Time to finish you off for good." Raising his hands, Morro picked up Lloyd's father and slammed him into the metal wall, denting it.

"Dad!" Lloyd exclaimed in shock. What was he doing? He knew he couldn't hurt him! Morro 2 threw him into the wall again, and this time he broke a hole, sending water gusting into the room. Oh. _Oh_. As Morro tried to smash him into the wall again, Lloyd's father stopped in midair, and Lloyd looked over in surprise to see the good Morro's hands raised as well, his powers opposing those of his double's. Evil Morro growled, then dropped Lloyd's father to the ground, grabbing a metal chair instead and slamming it into the walls. He was destroying the base. Water began to flow across the floor, and Indigo scrambled onto the table as the Nyas tried to push the water back out.

"Someone stop Morro!" Zane 2 yelled. Nya 1 tried to send the water in his direction, but he blew it back, burning Indigo and the other Cole. "Correction! Keep the water away from us!" A large crack stretched across the ceiling, and water began to pour through as the room broke in half. Both Nyas were struggling to not let the water hit them, creating a bubble of air around them. Evil Morro had air around him as well, no doubt some sort of shield created by wind. Finally, he decided he had done enough. Dropping the chair, Morro grabbed his double with a gust, dragging him closer before grabbing him by the hand, crushing his still-healing fingers and eliciting a scream from the wind master.

"You're coming with me." Morro 2 hissed, then shot up through the crack in the ceiling with him, a bubble of air around them as they shot towards the surface. No!

"Morro!" Lloyd screamed.

"The floor's coming apart!" Jay 1 yelled. "All ghosts need to possess someone so we can get safely to the surface!"

"But they're all injured!" Kai 2 yelled back.

"Get them on the table!" Nya 1 ordered. "We'll keep the area around it dry, and move it to the surface!" The others obeyed, taking the two Coles – Indigo was already on the table – and placing them next to her, not a moment too soon as the floor began to break. Lloyd felt arms scooping him up, and looked up to see his father above him. The next thing he knew, they were underwater.

TheDarknessReturn

"That was awful." Jessica muttered, trying to squeeze the water out of her hair.

"That was the third base we've lost..." Jay 2 mumbled miserably, sitting on the edge of the dock with his legs dangling over the edge. The group had managed to get safely up to the dock, one Nya taking the table with the ghosts up and the other helping the rest get up as fast as possible.

"And two Morros." Wu stood on the other side of the dock, staring off in the direction of Ninjago City,

"What are we going to do now?" Gin asked the question on everyone's minds. There was silence for a long time. Finally, Lloyd spoke.

"We take Stiix. Morro might've forced our hand, but we can still play it. The city's weak, it will be easy to take what's left of their defenders down."

"But we have no weapons or supplies. And the city's mostly collapsed. What good will it be?" Kai 2 asked.

"We can rebuild it!" Lloyd insisted. "And it's one of his biggest cities, it'll be a crushing blow for him to lose it!"

"Then let's start right now – show Morro that we can make a victory even in defeat." Cole 1 slammed his fist into his openhand, then winced. "Ow."

"Right." Lloyd 2 took charge. "Nya A, take the ghosts and make a shield of water around them, to catch any that goes in their direction. Nya B…" he smirked. "Let's drown this city."

* * *

 ***robotic voice* Oh wow. That was bad.**

 **~FFF**


	24. Chapter 24

**So I fell down some stairs and sprained my ankle**

 **I pity Lloyd 2, he has to go around on crutches all the time...**

 **Review replies:**

 **NinjagoMLP: ;)**

 **ninjachief: You mean everyone? :D**

 **Purplecatlover: Why would he trade him away when he can torture him for months first?**

 **Nicktastic: They're fine. Most of them.**

 **Ebony: :)**

 **Windy: Yes, I'm so proud of Morro for coming up with it. He's such a clever boy.**

 **Amber: :)**

 **Samantha: They'll be fine. Eventually.**

 **KRR: Hate. What a strange concept.**

* * *

"So this is what a victory feels like." Kai 2 remarked, his hands on his hips as he surveyed the newly rebuilt city.

"It's been a long time. Jay 2 agreed. Their conquest of Stiix had been almost laughably easy. Most of the ghosts had died in the initial flood, and any that somehow escaped were picked off one by one in the ninja's second sweep of the city. Four of the #2 ninja had made a Tornado of Creation to rebuild the center of the city, and create a safe, waterproof place for them to rest and heal. The remaining inhabitants of the city had thanked for their brave deed, and had set to work rebuilding the run-down city with the leftover wood from the collapse.

"What do we do when we run out of wood?" Nya asked, coming up behind them.

"I guess we'll have to go to the forest and cut some more down. Or tear down some old buildings." Kai 2 shrugged.

"Buildings would be easier, since the wood is already in boards and planks." Jay 2 agreed.

"Ninja?" I voice from behind them said, and they turned to see three teenagers standing on the walkway behind them. A girl with dark hair – and what looked like really muscular legs – stood in front, her hands met respectfully behind her back. "Thank you for saving our city." She gave them a slight bow.

"It's our pleasure." Kai 2 flashed her a grin, returning her box – with a bit more flair, of course. "You three live here?"

"Yes, under the docks. Nico and Mira-" she gestured to the two behind her. "-are elemental masters, and I'm a competent fighter. We did our best to resist against the ghosts, but the three of us could do little on our own."

"You're been fighting them for a while?" Jay 2 raised his eyebrow. The dark haired girl nodded. "Huh. Funny we never ran into you. What's your name?"

"Lila. Lila Stiix. My father used to be the mayor of this city, until _Bansha_ killed him." Her voice became decidedly bitter when she said Bansha's name.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Jay sounded sad.

"It's alright. I just… can't _wait_ to see the look on that _witch_ 's face when I lock her up for eternity." Lila clenched her fist.

"Well, Lila, Nico, Mira," Nya spoke up. "How about you come in? We can swap stories, battle tactics, see if either of us can give the other any useful information." Lila nodded.

"Sounds like a good plan to me." The two parties stepped into the large, wooden building, Nya leading them through to the large room in the center, where the injured ghosts were resting. As soon as Lila entered the room, her eyes locked on Bansha, who was sitting on the floor next to Indigo. " _You!_ "

" _You!_ " Indigo shouted back, sitting up straight.

"Whoa, hey," Kai 2 quickly stepped in front of the human girl. "What's going on?"

"Those three kidnapped us!" Indigo snapped, followed by a nod from Bansha.

"What are you doing with _her?!_ " Lila hissed, gesturing angrily at Bansha. "I thought you were on our side!"

"We are! Let me explain. Kai B?" Kai 1 walked over, and Lila stepped back in shock. "Bansha's from another timeline. Indigo too. They're good guys."

"I told you so!" Indigo yelled across the room. Cole 2 elbowed her. "Ow!"

"Not helpful." He chided.

"Well sorry." She muttered. Lila groaned.

"I… fine. I guess I owe you an apology. But you _did_ shoot Mira." The blond girl shifted uncomfortably, and Nya noted the bandage she had wrapped around her leg.

" _We_ didn't. That was Charlie, who, by the way, shot Bansha in the leg too. Consider yourself avenganced."

"Avenged." Bansha corrected her.

"Whatever."

"Fine. I'm sorry for locking you two up." Lila crossed her arms.

"Me too."

"Me too." Nico and Mira echoed.

"Now that that's out of the way, how about we join forces?" Lloyd 2 suggested, hobbling across the room on his crutches. "We could always use more fighters."

"Don't see why not." Lila agreed. "We could use the help as well. Is there a double of you?" She asked the blond. He nodded.

"He's off in a corner somewhere, probably moping."

"Moping? Why?" You just won an entire city."

"Yeah, but, Morro destroyed our base, and when he fled, he took our Morro with him."

"You have a Morro too?"

"Yep. The last time he got captured, the bad Morro broke all his fingers, so the other me's pretty upset."

"Huh." Lila shrugged, sinking down in a chair and motioning the other two to do the same. "Alright. Let's talk tactics."

TheDarknessReturn

"You lied to me." Morro was silent, head lowered, as his double walked a slow circle around the chair he was strapped to. "I don't take kindly to liars." A fist slammed into his nose, and his head snapped back as he let out a grunt of pain. "What I did to you last time clearly wasn't enough to beat you into submission. This time, I have other plans. This time, you'll have no choice but to obey me." The other him stepped away, looking disinterested. "Take him to a cell." He ordered the guards standing by the door, then sauntered out.

When one of his hands was freed, Morro gingerly touched his nose. It felt broken. At least, since he was a ghost, he couldn't bleed. The wind elemental was dragged – none too gently – down into the dungeon and tossed into a vacant cell. One hand on his face, Morro scooted back against the wall. At least the pain in his hands wasn't as bad as when they were first broken. That was much worse. His fingers were still very tender, of course, but they didn't hurt as much as at first.

What did the other him mean by 'no choice but to obey me'? Unless he had some sort of hypnotism or mind control, that wouldn't work. Not on him. He would never serve him. Not even if he was beaten within an inch of his life – well, afterlife. Still, he wasn't looking forward to whatever the evil Morro had planned for him. Unfortunately, there was nothing to do _but_ look forward to it. There was nothing else to do in the accursed dungeon.

Except… except think about the others. The other him had destroyed the base… flooded it. Indigo, Bansha, how could they have survived that? They must've drowned… and the rest, had they drowned too? Lloyd… Silently, Morro prayed that they had made it out, prayed they had survived. Though incredibly unlikely, anything was possible with God.

Now to pray that _he_ would make it out alive.

* * *

 **-3-**

 **~FFF**


	25. Chapter 25

**Enjoy this short-ish chapter which would've been longer if I hadn't fallen asleep (which is really weird? since i'm an insomniac?)**

 **Review replies:**

 **ninjachief: he' ll be ... f in e...**

 **NinjagoMLP: Garmy will take care of it. ;)**

 **Windy: Yep. I can technically walk even without crutches, but I'm going to an amusement park in a week (which is like the only time I can all year) and I want my ankle to be healed by then, so I'm staying off it as much as I can.**

 **Amber: yeah, hheh... I think that counts as bad...**

* * *

Chapter 25

"So our first priority is to get Morro back, obviously." Kai 2 pointed at the 3D map of Morro's castle on the table in front of him, projected from Zane's eyes. "Unless evil Morro thought to move him, he'll be in the dungeon. Right, Bansha?" The warrior nodded.

"The dungeon isn't hard to get to, and with enough of us I'm sure we could break the other doors down."

"Good. Lila, do you know if he would have anyone else down there? Like the elemental masters?" The dark-haired girl frowned.

"Probably. He kept Nya here in Stiix to keep the ocean at bay, the others he probably just keeps locked up."

"Right. So, when we raid the castle, we can free them all as well." A door creaked open on the far side of the room, and Nya looked over to see Lloyd 1 step inside, his father speaking to him quietly as he followed him in.

"What's our game plan?" Cole 1 asked.

"The Nyas will go in first, taking out all the ghosts, then we'll head into the dungeon and free everyone. We don't take on Morro, we just get everyone out and back to Stiix." Kai 2 replied. "If he comes after us, the Nyas will keep him at bay. Our Morro will probably be injured, but he can be carried if necessary."

"Could we fly back?" Indigo asked. "An elemental dragon can seat two, and, after freeing the elemental masters, more than half of us will definitely have dragons."

"Not from the castle, Morro could pull us back down. But probably over the desert." Kai 2 replied. "That would be a lot faster, and would give us a head start if Morro tried to come after us. Good thinking, Indigo." The ghost girl blushed a bit. "Nico, Mira, can you make your dragons?" They nodded. "Good. You'll need them."

"When do we leave?" Nya asked. "And, is everyone coming?"

"Soon. Maybe tonight. And Both Lloyds should stay, along with the sensei and maybe Indigo." Lloyd 1 and Indigo started talking at the same time, both of them sounding angry.

"I'm not staying behind, Morro needs my help!" Lloyd argued, his voice raised so he could be heard over Indigo.

"Mine too, and why should I stay? Because I'm a _girl?_ " Indigo shouted over him.

"Both of you, quiet down!" Kai 2 yelled. After a few moments, they quieted, and he continued. "Indigo, Morro will skin me alive if anything happens to you, and evil Morro could target you because he did show some attraction to you in the past. Lloyd, you're _injured_."

"Not very injured! Andreea's been healing me!" The blond huffed.

"And I can take care of myself!" Indigo argued.

"Then how did he capture you?"

"He captured my boyfriend and I didn't want him to hurt him!"

"And this time he already has your boyfriend. You're not going." The ghost girl huffed, but didn't protest further. Jessica put a hand on her shoulder.

"What about me?" Lloyd 1 asked. "I'm basically healed. I can kill ghosts. You need me."

"So can both Nyas. And no. You need to stay and guard the city."

"No! I'm not staying here!" The blond stomped his foot. "I'm coming, whether you like it or not!"

"Lloyd-"

"No! If you try to make me stay, I'll fight you!"

"Ll-"

"And if you beat me, I'll sneak out in the middle of the night and follow you!"

"We-"

"And if you send me back, I'll fight you again!"

"Alr-"

"And if you beat me again, you'll have to drag me back!"

"Lloyd, st-"

"And if you drag me back-"

"Lloyd!" Kai 2 snapped. "Stop! You're being ridiculous! You don't need to come!"

"But Morro-!"

"Don't you think we're capable of rescuing him?"

"No! Maybe! I don't know!" Lloyd 1 folded his arms, staring at the floor. "Morro's gonna be scared. At least one of Indigo or I should go."

"Bansha is coming. He likes her, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but…" The blond trailed off. "I still want to come."

"Lloyd, what if Morro attacks Stiix while most of us are gone?" Garmadon spoke up. "I can't fight him off. He can't hurt me, not physically, but I can't hurt him, and I'm vulnerable to his possession." Lloyd's eyes widened.

"I…"

"I need you here, to protect me and Wu." The grey-haired man continued. After a few moments, Lloyd gave a slow nod.

"I guess."

"Good." His father put a hand on his shoulder. "Then it's settled. You're staying."

"Yeah." Indigo still looked annoyed, but she didn't comment.

"Do you think we can get ready by tonight?" Kai 1 asked.

"Probably." His double replied. "If we start now."

"Then let's get going." Jay 2 stood up. "Tonight, we leave for Ninjago City."

* * *

 **Look at this stubborn idiot why won't he just do what he's told**

 **~FFF**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello lovelies I killed the art block**

 **Review Replies:**

 **MLGbillcipher: we'll see**

 **Nicktastic: we'll see**

 **Ebony: Thank you for that your review is the only reason this chapter exists**

 **Ninjachief: we'll see**

 **Amber: I try to avoid telling my family about my fanfictions, except for my little sisters. They love it. However, my dad would be undoubtedly be like "yOU DID _WHAT_ TO YOUR CHARACTERS OMG THAT"S SO HARSH" and my brothers would be like "mmhmm does it have explosions in it". also... we'll see**

 **Draconis: It's a common problem.**

 **Ninjagirl: we'll see**

* * *

Chapter 26

Morro strained against the cuffs on the arms of his chair, disappointed to find that they didn't budge. No way out of this.

It had only been about eight hours since he was last strapped to this chair, listening to his double brag about how he planned to make him do his bidding. About five minutes ago, three guards had appeared in front of his cell, and, without a word, taken him out and dragged him back to the torture chamber. They had chained him up, and left, locking the door behind him.

How long was he going to have to sit here? Last time, Morro 2 had been the one to strap him in, so he was already there. He did love to dramatize everything, so maybe he was trying to build up suspence. Just as this thought passed through his mind, the door opened and the ghost king stepped through. He had some sort of cloth pouch in one hand, and he had a smug smile on his face.

"I have one question." He said smoothly, closing the door behind him. "Will you join me?" Without giving him a chance to answer, he went on. "Before you say no, think about it. I would let you heal, give you a position of power. Give you an army to command. I'd even spare your precious girlfriend. And maybe, just maybe, that brat, Lloyd." Morro frowned, staring at the floor. "Tempting, isn't it?" It was. To be given power, to be able to ensure Indigo's safety, to be able tom rest and heal… it was very tempting. Somewhere, deep inside of him, he still had a desire to control, to rule…

Of course, this wasn't an offer he could even dream of taking up.

"No." He said aloud. "Even if I could keep myself and my closest friends safe, it wouldn't be worth dooming every other citizen of Ninjago to an eternity of living under your tyranny." His double sighed.

"I was afraid you'd say something like that." The other him opened the pouch, tipping a small pile of reddish powder into his hand. "Do you know what this is?" He asked, lifting the hand up as he took a step closer. Morro just stared. "I didn't think so. This is – well, I would tell you the name, but that woukd give away what it did." Morro noticed for the first time that the other him wore gloves. "It's a remarkable powder made from Valis Chilis, a rare pepper that grows on sunny mountainsides. And it has the most interesting affect when exposed directly to the eyes. Before he could react, Morro 2 raised his hand to his lips and blew the powder into his face.

Instantly, Morro squeezed his eyes shut, but it was too late. Red flashed in his vision, and his eyes burned like they were on fire. He cried out as he strained the against the cuffs, trying to rub his eyes in an attempt to get rid of the pain. He heard a chuckle from the evil him in the background, but barely noticed it over the pain in his eyes. Finally, after a few minutes, the pain subsided, and he slumped forward, not daring to open his eyes yet for fear of the light hurting them.

"You have no choice but to obey me now." His double sounded satisfied. "Even if I let you go, you wouldn't be able to find your way back to Stiix. You would just wander until your found yourself back in my clutches." What? What was he talking about? Morro snapped his eyes open, opening his mouth to snap back a retort, but froze. Where there should have been a bright room and his enemy grinning down at him, there was nothing. There was only darkness.

He was blind.

TheDarknessReturn

"Hold up!" Nya 2 yelled as Kai reached towards the doorknob. "Someone's coming!" Night was falling, and the group were literally just about to leave when Nya called them to a halt. She had been checking the security cameras one last time, and seen a single figure crossing the bridge into Stiix.

"Who is it?" Nya 1 asked, peering over her shoulder.

"A… ghost." Her double replied with a frown. "But he's carrying a white flag."

"Coles, go get him." Nya 1 instructed. "Bring him here." The two ghosts nodded, and headed outside alone. A couple minutes later, they returned, a hooded ghost carrying a white flag and a scroll following them in.

"A message from His Majesty." The man said in a gruff voice. Lloyd took it, starting to unroll it, but Kai 1 snatched it away.

"Hey, what gives?" The blond tried to grab it back, but Kai held it away.

"If it's something about Morro, I don't want you to flip out." The spiky-haired ninja unrolled it, then frowned as his eyes skimmed down the page. "Lloyd, go into the next room."

"It is about Morro!" Lloyd lunged for it, but Kai 1 pushed him away.

"Nuh-uh. We'll tell you once we've made a decision. Go. You too, Indigo."

"What?"

" _Go._ " Grumbling, Indigo grabbed Lloyd's arm and pulled him out of the room. Once she closed the door, she hissed,

"I'll turn invisible and go read it, then report back to you, okay?" He nodded, and she vanished. A couple minutes later, she reappeared, her face grim. "Evil Morro wants you in exchange for our Morro. He says he made our Morro blind, and he'll do worse if we don't hand you over." Lloyd blinked.

"Alright. I'll get ready to go."

"You know they won't let you come."

"I'll sneak out without them."

"Just the two of us against Morro and his army?"

"Who said you were coming?"

"I did. You don't really think I want to stay behind any more than you do, do you?"

"True. Maybe we can get Bansha to come with us too. When should we leave?"

"How about an hour after they do?"

"That works."

"What about your dad? Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine." That wasn't quite true, he wasn't _sure_ of anything. He didn't think anything bad would happen, though. Evil Morro would be busy waiting for Lloyd to give himself up.

"Okay. Then we leave tonight."

"Oh no you don't." Lloyd jumped, whirling around to see Kai 1 standing behind them with his arms folded. He must've come in the other door.

"Crap."

"Indigo, you should be ashamed of yourself. Lloyd already runs away enough without you helping him." Indigo looked hurt, then stuck out her chin in defiance.

"You should be ashamed of yourself for not letting me help save my own _boyfriend_ – and Lloyd his best friend." Now it was Kai's turn to look hurt.

" _I'm_ Lloyd's best friend."

"You and him both are." Lloyd said hurriedly. "And so are the rest of the ninja. But Morro's the one in trouble. And I'm going whether you like it or not."

"You'd leave your father unprotected?"

"Morro won't attack, he'll be waiting for me to turn myself in!"

"How do you know that?"

"Well do you think he won't?"

"He wouldn't assume you'd just give yourself up, even with out Morro at stake. It's probably a trick to get us out of the city!"

"If he plans to attack the city, any army he sends will run right into us! I'm not staying behind! And if you're so insistent in having someone protect the city, _you_ stay behind!" Kai groaned.

"Alright, I didn't want to have to do this, but I have no other choice." Before Lloyd could react, his brother detached a pair of vengestone cuffs from his belt, and snapped them onto his wrists. For a few, long moments, the blond boy just stared at his wrists.

"What-" the green ninja managed at last. "You'd- you'd lock me up?!"

"Only to keep you safe." Kai shook his head, folding his arms. "Indigo, do I have to lock you up too?"

"No." She mumbled.

"Good. Lloyd, you'd only get yourself hurt if you tried to rescue Morro on your own."

"No I wouldn't!" Lloyd clenched his hands into fists. "I've done it before!"

"And nearly got ripped apart by evil Morro."

"I DID NOT!" Lifting both his hands, Lloyd swung them both at Kai's head, slamming the chain into his forehead and making him stumble back.

"O-ow! Lloyd, what are you doing?" The red ninja yelped, rubbing his forehead as he took a step back.

"YOU CAN'T KEEP ME HERE! YOU CAN'T KEEP ME LOCKED UP LIKE THIS!" The blond screamed, swinging at him again. This time, Kai ducked, but Lloyd shoved him hard and he toppled to the floor. Lloyd started to kneel to hit him again, but Indigo grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Lloyd, stop!" She pleaded. "This is crazy!"

"He _chained me up!_ " he thrust the cuffs in her face. "I'm only defending myself!"

"You attacked him! You physically hurt him!"

"But-" The door burst open behind him, and he spun around to see the rest of the ninja flooding through.

"He attacked me! Someone grab him!" Lloyd turned back towards Kai to see the red ninja pointing an accusing finger at him, lowering his other hand to reveal an ugly purple bruise on his forehead where he had hit him. _He_ had done that? He was so stunned that he barely noticed when Dyana unlocked one of his cuffs, then pulled his hands behind his back and cuffed them together again, As soon as he did notice, he started to fight.

"LET GO OF ME!" He screamed, struggling to break Cole and Jay – he didn't know or care which ones – 's grip on his arms. They didn't let go. He was dragged out of the room, and he caught a glimpse of Jessica's look of pity before he was dragged down a hall to their small prison of sorts. He was shoved into one of the two cells, and the door was slammed and locked behind him before he could get up. Stumbling to his feet, Lloyd spotted Kai 1 standing in the hallway, and screamed, "YOU'RE NOT MY BEST FRIEND! I HATE YOU!" Then the door to the prison was slammed shut as well.

As the blond stared at the door, breathing heavily, he felt his anger ebbing away, replaced by guilt. Why had he said that? He didn't hate Kai. He was just angry, and… Lloyd slumped to his knees, leaning his forehead against the bars as he started to cry. He was so stupid. He must've made everyone mad at him when he hit Kai. He should've just stayed like they wanted him to. Now he was locked up in his own home, by his friends and family. Everyone was angry with him.

He was all alone.

* * *

 **oops**

 **~FFF**


	27. Chapter 27

**So just a heads up I'll almost certainly not be updating tomorrow (definitely not this, maybe a one shot) since I'll be at an amusement park all day.**

 **Review replies:**

 **ninjachief: Lloyd needs therapy.**

 **KRR: Because I'm always evil.**

 **Kat: Thanks! :D**

 **Ebony: ...yes. True. Also yes, since his body would regenerate, his vision would be fixed. Unfortunately, he doesn't know that.**

 **Windy: The poor kid needs a time out. Have fun on your vacation!**

 **Ninjagirl8: He's always had issues. Kai needs a break from him. They all do.**

 **Amber: Not without compensation.**

* * *

Chapter 27

Morro didn't struggle as he was lead back to his cell, simply focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. Even though he walked without looking at his feet all the time, it was suddenly ten times harder with his sight gone. He felt like he was about to trip, or crash into something. Which, of course, was unrealistic, since there was nothing to try over in his double's immaculate dungeon hallways, and the guards escorting him wouldn't deliberately crash in the wall.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling, and he stumbled a couple times over his own feet, which fortunately didn't matter much since the guards holding his arms caught him when he did. Finally, he heard a door unlock, then he was shoved forward, landing on his hands and knees on the stone floor. The door was closed and locked, but he stayed there for a few minutes, not moving, as he tried to calm his nerves.

He was blind.

Finally, he crawled over to the wall, reaching out to touch it so he didn't crash into it before curling up in a corner. What was going to happen to him? The evil him was right, he couldn't escape blind like this, much less make it back to Stiix or even out of the city. Would he double continue torturing him like he did last time? Or did he have other plans for him? Even if he didn't, and just left him down here to rot, he might never see his friends again.

He might not see them again either way.

He would never see _anything_ again, now that he thought about it The full weight of what had happened to him crashed down on him, and he felt a lump growing in his throat. He was scared, sad, and angry. He would never see daylight again. Never see his world again. Never see his friends again. He let out a soft sob, covering his face with his hands. He might be trapped here forever. And he was immortal, hundreds of years could pass and death would not free him from this cell.

He had to trust in the others. Trust in God. He wouldn't be stuck here forever. Even his sight could possibly be restored. Letting out a shaky breath, Morro rubbed his sleeve across his face. He needed to calm down. Panicking and crying wouldn't help anything.

He concentrated instead on counting the guards' steps as they paced back and forth outside his cell. That helped him calm down, and he lifted his head, trying to think. Would the others come for him? It would be harder for them to rescue him this time, since he was blind.

But would they even try? Or would they just stay in the base? Wait… the base was destroyed. Which reminded them… how many of them were still alive? Bansha and Indigo were undoubtedly dead, in the Cursed Realm somewhere. Thought, which Cursed Realm, he didn't know. Would they be able to make it back? What about the others? They had two water masters, maybe they had managed to save them.

With a tired sigh, Morro leaned back against the wall, closing his sightless eyes. Maybe, if he waited long enough, his eyes would just heal.

Maybe.

TheDarknessReturn

Garmadon winced at the sound of his son's angry screams, followed by a door slamming shut. A few moments later, Cole and Jay reentered the room, followed by a depressed-looking Kai who was pressing a hand to the ugly bruise on his forehead. Nya 1 frowned when she saw it, clicking her tongue.

"Come and sit down, I'll get your some ice." She lead him over to a chair, then left to get the ice. There was silence for a few moments, then Garmadon heard Jay 1 say,

"He doesn't really hate you."

"I hope not." Kai mumbled.

"Lloyd's just upset. I think he's going crazy from the stress." Cole 1 agreed, putting a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"I know I am." The fire ninja shook his head. Nya came back with a block of ice wrapped in a towel, and Kai pressed it to his forehead, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back.

"I'm going to go talk to him." Garmadon said at last, standing up from his seat on a wooden bench.

"Lloyd?" Jay frowned. "I dunno… he's pretty worked up, you might wanna let him blow off some steam first."

"I'm his father. I'll be fine." The grey-haired man headed down the hall towards the small prison, pausing outside the door to listen. He heard nothing at first, then a faint sob. Frowning, Garmadon pushed the door open to see his son, curled up in the corner of one of the cells as he sobbed into his knees. He had somehow managed to get his cuffed hands around in front of him, and was hugging his knees to his chest as he cried. When he heard the door open, he looked up, his eyes red and face splotchy, before hiding his face in his knees again.

"G-go away…" He whispered.

"No." His father took the keys from their hook on the wall, noting how Lloyd's head shot up at the sound of them clinking together, then fit one into the lock for his son's cell. He almost expected Lloyd to bolt for the door when he pushed it open, but the blond stayed in the corner as he locked it up again and tossed the keys out of the cell. Now they were locked in together. If need be, he could get to the keys by reaching through the bars, but Lloyd couldn't with his hands cuffed. Lloyd cried into his arms for a while, not acknowledging his presence except for a peek up at him from time to time. Finally, he whispered,

"T-tell Kai I'm s-sorry… r-really sorry… I d-don't hate him. I w-was being stupid. I'm sorry…" He let out a sob. "It's o-okay if he d-doesn't w-wanna forgive m-me…"

"Lloyd, you can Kai have best been friends for years. One harsh word won't change that." Garmadon shifted closer. "I'm sure he'll forgive you."

"B-bit I s-said I hate him! A-and hit him!"

"He forgive you when you were a kid, who turned Cole against him and freed the serpentine, didn't he?"

"But-"

"Didn't he?"

"Y-yeah… b-but we w-weren't friends them…" Lloyd sniffled. "I j-just wanna go help them h-help Morro! I j-just wanna s-see him and make s-sure he's o-okay!"

"It's not safe." His father shifted closer again, running a hand through his hair. "You'll be able to see him as soon as they get back."

"B-but if they f-fail? W-what if they d-don't m-make it b-back? W-what if I n-never-" He let out a sob. "n-never see Morro again?!"

"Lloyd, I promise you that they will make it back." The elderly man scooted closer again, putting an arm around his shoulders.

"H-how can you kn-know th-that?"

"How could they fail? Evil Morro doesn't know they're coming, they have two water ninja, and they have Bansha to show them exactly where to go. They have every upper hand. How could they fail?" Lloyd was silent for a few moments, then burst into tears ago.

"I d-don't kn-know! B-but I'm s-scared! I j-just wanna s-see Morro, j-just want him t-to be o-okay!" He sobbed.

"Shh…" Garmadon pulled him into his arms, and Lloyd buried his face in his chest, squeezing his eyes shut as he sobbed. It took a while, but Lloyd finally calmed down enough to speak, his hands reaching up to clutch his father's shoulders.

"I w-wanna get out o-of this c-cage." He stammered. "I h-hate being in a cage. E-everyone p-puts me in a c-cage. Th-the Overlord p-put me in a c-cage, Ch-Chen put me i-in a cage, P-Pythor put me in a c-cage, e-even Morro put m-me in a c-cage…" He started to cry again. "P-please, I w-won't try to r-run away, I s-swear, a-as long as you g-get me out…" His father sighed.

"I'll talk to the others about it. I don't think they trust you not to run away."

"O-oh…"

"You can't exactly blame them. You've run away twice, and tried to do it a third. And hit Kai when he tried to restrain you."

"Y-yeah, I don't blame th-them…" Lloyd sniffled. "I won't… w-won't leave the b-base…"

"I'm not sure I trust you."

"Oka, f-fine! J-just leave me!" The blond let out another sob, pushing him away. "I d-don't c-care!"

"Yes you do. Lloyd, you're overreacting. Calm down."

"I'm n-not overreacting!"

"You are in a cage. You are chained up. But you are not in danger. No one is going to hurt you. Calm down." Lloyd sniffled, then rubbed his sleeve across his face.

"O-okay."

"Good. Come here." Garmadon pulled him up against him again, and Lloyd leaned his head on his father's shoulder. After a moment, he whispered,

"C-can I have the cuffs off at least?"

"I suppose." The grey-haired man reached through the bars to take the keys from the floor, fitting them into the locks on Lloyd's cuffs and taking them off, tossing them on the cell floor. Instantly, Lloyd kicked them away, rubbing his wrists where the cuffs had been.

"Th-thanks…" He leaned back against his father's shoulder, closing his eyes as he wiped the remaining tears off this face. Within a couple minutes, he was asleep. He must've been exhausted. Poor boy. He was too young to have to deal with things like this. Putting his arm around his shoulders again, Garmadon leaned back against the wall. He would wait until someone came and checked on them to leave, then he could ask them about letting Lloyd go free. Perhaps all he needed was some rest.

* * *

 **+Garmy: He also needs therapy. And lots of hugs.**

 **~FFF**


	28. Chapter 28

**Well this is a bit late. Sorry guys, I had a lot of babysitting and other assorted jobs this week. I did update I'm Not Sick, and I wrote a oneshot that I'll be posting sometime soon, so there's that.**

 **Review replies:**

 **Windy: Lloyd... needs therapy.**

 **Ninjagirl: Kai is tough. And something bad ALWAYS happens. Lloyd's about 12-ish.**

 **TheAmberShadow: Not willingly. And yeah, totally. If he can figure it out.**

 **Chan: He definitely fricked up.**

 **Zena: "Sad" being the operative word here.**

 **Ebony: I deleted the A/N and it got confused. Heck me too.**

 **KRR: Thanks Kayenta, I knew I always liked you.**

 **Guest: because I can.**

 **Samantha: I'm glad :^)  
**

* * *

Chapter 28

This was not comfortable in the least.

Indigo bounced around in Jay's pocket, gritting her teeth – figuratively – every time her coin clinked against another. Good thing coins couldn't smell, otherwise she'd have to deal with the stink of Jay's clothes too. Despite having seen what they did to Lloyd when he defied them, she had snuck along against their orders, possessing a coin in Jay 1's pocket and coming along on their journey. Unfortunately, she hadn't counted on it being so… bumpy. If she could get out, then turn invisible instantly, maybe she could walk instead. Just as she was about to execute her plan, she heard the crackle of the radio, then a voice.

"Kai, do you read me?" Nya's distorted voice asked. After some thought, they had left Nya 2 back at Stiix, to defend the city from attacks as well as keep an eye on Lloyd 1, who had been set free from his cell under the condition that he let himself be chained with a single vengestone cuff and stayed in sight at all times.

"Yeah, I read you." Kai's voice replied.

"We have a problem." His sister reported. "Indigo's gone mission. She could be in Stiix somewhere, but we think she might be with you."

"I see. Not sure how we'd be able to find her, since if she's here she's most likely invisible, but we'll do our best." Kai replied, then there was a click from the radio. "Harry, I don't suppose you'd be able to like… find her consciousness, would you?"

"I can try." Indigo stayed perfectly still in Jay's pocket, listening to the shuffling outside. "I… am not familiar with her mind, but I think she's nearby." The telepath said at last. "I'm not sure."

"Indigo!" Kai yelled. "Come out and you won't get in trouble! If we have to find you later, you will be!" She'd take her chances. There was silence for a few moments. "Eh. Whatever." The group started walking again, and Indigo debated whether or not to try to leave Jay's pocket. They were looking for her now. Finally, she bounced the coin up out of his pocket, letting it fall into the sand.

She was still for a couple minutes, then, hoping no one was looking, floated up out of it and instantly turned invisible. No shouts, no fingers pointing in her direction. Good. A quick glance around revealed the others about 20 feet ahead, and she tucked the coin in her own pocket in case she needed it later before hurrying after them. She could only hope they got there before Morro got hurt worse.

TheDarknessReturn

One, two, three, four, five, six. Turn. One, two, three, four, five, six. Turn. Morro was back to counting steps, his eyes closed as he leaned into the corner with his knees hugged to his chest. It must've been at least a day now. Maybe two. How long had he been here?

After a while, he opened his eyes. Waved his hand in front of his face. Nothing. No change in his vision. He sighed quietly. It was unlikely there would ever be any change, really. The thought made his heart sink. At least the other him had left him alone so far. He tried to concentrate on the guards' footsteps, but a sudden observation made him sit up straight.

There were no more footsteps.

"Morro! Psst!" Morro jumped at the sound of his name, lifting his head and opening his eyes out of reflex.

"Who's there?" He said aloud.

"It's Jay. Where are you?" The voice came from outside his cell, echoing down the hall.

"Ah… follow my voice." Morro stood up, steadying himself against the wall. "Are you alone?"

"Nope." A different voice – Kai – spoke up. "We left the Sensei, the Lloyds, Indigo, and one Nya back at Stiix."

"Indigo's alive?" The wind master said in amazement.

"Why wouldn't she be?"

"The base was flooded!"

"Oh yeah. The Nyas held the water back and got everyone to safety."

"So Bansha is safe too?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Bansha's voice echoed through his door.

"Thank God." A knock sounded on his door.

"This one yours?" Came Cole's voice.

"Yeah."

"Okay, stand back." He was in a corner, pretty far away from the door, he thought. Abruptly, there was a loud sound of metal ripping, then a deafening _clang_. He heard footsteps coming towards him, then a cool hand touched his arm.

"Bansha?" He asked uncertainly.

"Yes, it's me." She replied next to him. "So you are blind?"

"Yes."

"Can't see at all?" Cole asked.

"No."

"Huh. You can still follow us though, right?"

"As long as I can hold onto someone."

"Great. Now let's bust out some other prisoners, and-" Cole was interrupted by shouts echoing down the hall. "Uh oh."

"Don't let them get away! Cut them off!" His double's voice rang out down the hall way.

"Nope. Change of plans. Let's get out of here." Morro heard hurried footsteps, then Bansha tugged him forward, guiding him through the doorway and down the hall. He heard water splashing, and followed closer behind Bansha, though he knew she couldn't protect him if any came his way.

"Hi." Suddenly, a hand slipped into his free one, accompanied by his girlfriend's voice.

"Indigo?" He asked in surprise. "I thought you were back at Stiix."

"I snuck along. Shh."

"What the- Indigo!?" Kai sounded mad. "Why are you here?"

"I came to help save my boyfriend, duh. She replied, tightening her grip on his hand.

"Oh for- uuuugh. You are in _so_ much trouble when we get out of here." Now Indigo and Bansha were both pulling him along, which was better because now he didn't have to worry about crashing into something. Finally, he heard Bansha say,

"There's stairs." And, two seconds later, he tripped on the first step. Fortunately, Indigo and Bansha caught him, and they lead him up the steep steps to a door, which he heard opened before being pulled through. "Don't go corporeal, you'll hit a wall." Bansha instructed, and he felt the sensation of passing through something. Then she let go of him, leaving him holding onto only Indigo.

"Woo, we're out!" Jay cheered.

"Not quite." Kai still sounded irritated. "We still need to get out of the city. But no dragons. Evil Morro could knock us out of the sky."

"Right." Jay agreed.

"Indigo," Kai started as the group began to hurry along. "You said you weren't going to sneak along."

"I did not. I said I wasn't going to insist on going along. Besides, if I had refused, you would've locked me up too."

"Wait… 'too'?" Morro interjected.

"Lloyd went kinda nuts when he was told he couldn't come and rescue you. He physically attacked Kai and kept ranting about how he was coming alone anyway, he had to chain him and lock him in jail to get him to snap out of it." Jay's voice was grave.

"I would've thought that would be enough to scare Indigo into submission, but no…" Kai muttered.

"Excuse you? 'Scare me into submission'?" Indigo scoffed. "If you think you can 'scare' me into doing anything, you've got another thing coming, bucko."

"Oh yeah? Well I-"

"Guys, cut it out." One of the Coles interrupted. "We'll deal with Indigo once we get back to Stiix. No arguing."

"Fine." Kai agreed.

"'Deal' with me…" Indigo muttered, but didn't comment further. Morro felt almost sick to his stomach. Not because of Indigo, but because of Lloyd. Something had to be really wrong. Was it him? Had his captured tipped him over the edge? As soon as he got back, he would have to talk to him. For now, he could only hope they made it out of the city without being caught.

TheDarknessReturn

Indigo lead Morro along, holding his hand tight as she followed the others. She knew she was in trouble. She didn't really care. After all, what could they do to her? She was a ghost, she could easily slip away if they tried to restrain her. Feeling a tug on her arm, she turned back towards Morro to see him stumbling to regain his balance after tripping over something.

She frowned slightly as she slowed to let him catch up. Poor Morro. He looked so strange. He stared straight ahead, his eyes wide as though straining to see something, and his normally pale-green irises were a dull grey. It was weird to see him looking so… lost. Abruptly, he stopped short, jerking her to a halt.

"Morro?" She said, confused.

"I hear something." He sounded uncertain. Suddenly, his eyes widened further. "Come on!" Without an explanation, he took off to the left, dragging Indigo with him. He was still much stronger than her, so she had no choice but to follow. Ignoring the shouts from the others for them to come back, Morro kept running through buildings and anything in his path. Finally, he crashed into a pile of deepstone crates, losing his grip on her hand and crashing to the ground.

"Morro!" Indigo, who managed to skid to a halt in time, knelt next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder as he pressed a hand to his side.

"Agh…" he groaned. "Stupid deepstone."

"Are you hurt?"  
"Yeah. Running into things will do that."

"Badly?"

"I'll manage." He got to his knees. "Where are we?"

"No clue. Why'd you bolt like that?"

"Heard footsteps. Guard footsteps, lots of them. If Nya had to attack them, I didn't want us caught in the crossfire."

"Oh."

"Kinda got stabbed in the stomach by something. What'd I hit?"

"Pile of boxes."

"Of course. Boxes. At least it wasn't a wall, running full speed into a wall would've hurt."

"Not as much as this!" A voice yelled. As Indigo turned to see who had spoken, her eyes went wide at the sight of the stack of boxes falling towards them. Grabbing Morro by the wrist, she drained his energy to give herself a boost before jumping out of the way and dragging him with her. Letting him crumble to the ground, she whirled around to try to find their attacker, but what she saw made her mouth drop open in shock.

It was her.

* * *

 ** _it her_**

 **So guys I made some ninjago parody videos**

 **look them up they're on youtube under the name "Lydia K"**

 **~FFF**

 **P.S. yes that is my real name**


	29. Chapter 29

**8 days until my birthday**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ninjachief: Called what? Which thing? And maybe. Possibly.**

 **Nicktastic: Depends on who you think it is.**

 **Kat: Cool. I was wondering where you went.**

 **Ebony: F I T E**

 **Amber: Thanks! :D**

 **Samantha: Of course there is.**

* * *

Chapter 29

Bansha watched in stunned silence as Morro fled the rest of the group with his girlfriend in tow.

"HEY! COME BACK!" Jay 1 yelled after them. "Where're they going?"

"I dunno. But we gotta go after them." Cole 2 started in the direction they had gone.

"How are we supposed to find them?" Zane 1 protested. "It's a huge city!"

"Well we can't come back without Morro." Kai 1 huffed. "You know Lloyd will skin us if we do." Zane sighed.

"You're right. Everyone, split up into pairs and and start searching. Everyone meet at the edge of the desert tonight, whether they've been found or not. Alright?" The others nodded, and they split up and headed off. They didn't have quite even numbers, so it was decided that Nya go alone since she could kill any ghosts she came across.

Bansha paired up with Cole 2, and they headed straight in the direction Morro and Indigo had gone. Hopefully, since he couldn't see, he would keep going straight until he hit something or calmed down. What in Ninjago had caused him to run off like that? Had he panicked? Had the stress of not being able to see been too much for him? Whatever the case, they wouldn't know until they found him. Which, hopefully, they managed to do before he got caught.

ThDarknessReturn

Indigo stared blankly at the human version of herself perched atop the toppled pile of boxes with her hands on her hips. So this is what the other version of her was like.

"Crap." The other her muttered. "Another second and I would've rid this world of you. If not for you!" She pointed an accusing finger at Indigo. "Who might you be, vile doppelganger?!" Indigo just stared for a moment before replying.

"Uhh, I'm Indigo. Well, I'm you from another timeline."

"A likely story!" The other her stomped her foot. "And I suppose this nasty creature is from this 'under time lime' as well?" She cast a disdainful look at Morro.

"It's other timeline, and yeah, actually."

"Sure."

"Well, don't I look like you?" Indigo threw her hands up in the air. "And you just saw me use my powers to save Morro!"

"I-Indigo?" Morro stammered, trying to sit up but failing due to his weakened state. "Who are you talking to?"

"My other me." His girlfriend replied, standing in between him and her double. "And he came to help," she addressed the human girl. "He came from our universe to try to beat this world's Morro."

"And why should I believe that?" Indigo 2 crossed her arms.

"Do you _really_ think this world's Morro would let himself get in this situation?" Indigo crossed her arms back. "Blind, weakened, and confused? If he was blind, he wouldn't leave his castle without 40 guards around him. And if he was evil then I would've killed him by now."

"Unless you're evil." Her double shot back. "If you're good, why are you a ghost?"

"'Cause I fell off a bridge."

"Wow. Smart." Indigo 2 said sarcastically.

"Thanks, I'm rather proud of it." Indigo said sarcastically back. They were both silent for a few moments, then the human girl uncrossed her arms and shrugged.

"Okay. I trust you."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah." Her double hopped down off the boxes. "C'mon, let's get out of here before we get spotted by a patrol. I'll take you home to my husband and son."

"Your _what?_ "

TheDarknessReturn

Morro listened to the two Indigos' footsteps, not having to do anything but think as he was carried along. Having been drained of his energy by his Indigo, he was too weak to walk, and therefore was forced to be carried. Neither girl spoke. If they had, he wasn't sure he would be able to tell them apart. When they had first started arguing, he had thought his girlfriend was talking to herself. Or that he was hearing things. It was so weird to meet another one of her. And she _married?_ And had a _son?_ He was a bit jealous of her husband. He and Indigo could never have children of their own. Abruptly, Indigo stopped walking.

"Here we are!" Indigo 2 – it had to be her because his Indigo wouldn't know the way – said, and he heard a door open, then Indigo started walking again.

"Mom?" Came a little boy's voice. "Who are these guys?"

"Long story."

"Why does the girl look like you?"

"Like I said, long story." Some snuffling. "This is my son, Simon. Simon, this is Indigo and Morro. They're from another dimension."

"Cool." Simon sounded impressed.

"Where's dad?"

"Upstairs."

"Okay. I'mma get him. You two can sit down." Morro heard foosteps walking away, then creaking stairs, then his Indigo took a few steps before he was set down on something soft. A couch, it felt like.

"Are you really from another dimension?" The little boy asked.

"Yep." Indigo confirmed.

"Why are you a ghost?"

"I died."

"Why are you carrying him?"

"Because he can't walk."

"Why not?"

"I drained his energy because your mom tried to knock a stack of boxes over on us."

"Why'd she do that?" This kid sure was full of questions.

"She thought we were evil."

"Why?"

"Because we're ghosts."

"Why?"

"Okay, my turn to ask questions. How old are you?"

"I'm five."

"What's your dad's name?"

"Owen."

"What's he like?" Simon was silent for a moment.

"Tall." He said at last.

"Well that's specific." Morro heard stairs creaming, and struggled to sit up straight. He'd rather not be seen as weak in front of Indigo's counterpart's husband.

"Indigo, Morro, this is my husband, Owen." Came Indigo 2's voice. "I already explained about the other timeline thing."

"Hey." Came a deeper, male voice. Morro nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hi." His Indigo greeted the other male.

"Simon, come help me fix dinner." Indigo's double said, and Morro heard footsteps as the two exited the room, leaving Morro, Indigo 1, and Owen alone together. There was silence for a couple moments before the other man broke the silence.

"So… are you two… together?"

"Romantically? Yes." Indigo replied.

"Married?"

"Not yet." She certainly expected to someday marry him. Which was good, because he planned to someday propose to her. Someday soon.

"I see." A couple moments of silence. "Gosh, it's weird seeing you with him. No offence, I just meant… because he's so evil here."

"It's weird seeing two of me." She replied in a monotone voice.

"What do you look like?" Morro spoke up.

"Um… what?" Owen sounded confused.

"I guess the other me didn't mention that he's blind." Indigo explained. "The bad Morro captured him and did something to his eyes."

"Oh. Uh… I'm about six feet tall, and I have very short blond hair, and… a bit of a beard. I'm light-skinned and I have brown eyes." That gave him a pretty good mental image of him. The ghost boy nodded.

"What does Simon look like?"

"Darker skin, not quite as dark as Indigo's, strawberry-blond hair and brown eyes. And he's about four feet tall."

"Hmm." He wondered if he would ever be able to see him."

"OWEN!" Indigo 2 yelled from another room. "HELP ME PUT OUT THE KITCHEN!"

"What do you mean 'put out the kitchen'?"

"It's on fire!"

"Not again!" Morro heard running footsteps, then distant yelling.

"Think we should help?" Indigo asked.

"I think they've got it." The two sat in silence for a few moments.

"So what do you think of them?" She asked at last.

"I'm a little jealous, to be honest."

"Jealous?" She sounded confused. "Why?"

"Because of Simon. We're both ghosts, we'll never be able to have kids."

"Oh." She sighed. "Yeah."

"But at least I have you." He reached up to her shoulder, feeling his way up to her face and stroking her cheek. She giggled.

"So does he." She pointed out.

"You're better."

"We're the same person! What makes me better than her?"

"You love me." Silence.

"Fair." She said at last. He chuckled.

"I thought so."

"Morro!" A faraway voice made him jerk upright. "Indigo! Morro!"

"What is it?" Indigo asked.

"Someone's calling us."

"I don't hear anything."

"Well I do. We need to rejoin the others. Hurry, go tell the other you and her family we have to do, then we'll go find them."

"Okay." She heard shuffling, running footsteps, then voices, After a moment, Indigo ran back. "Done. Can you walk?"

"I think so." Morro stumbled to his feet. "Let's go, and hurry." Indigo lead him out of the house and back into the alleys, where he called,

"Hello?"

"Morro!" The voice was much closer now, and he recognized it as Bansha's. "Where have you been? Why did you run off like that?"

"I heard guards coming and I panicked."

"…I see. I'm glad you two weren't caught. Come on, we have to rejoin the others."

"Where are they?" Indigo asked.

"Looking for you two. We're supposed to meet at the desert. Come on." Bansha took his other hand and began to lead him along. Morro followed, letting himself get lost in thought. That was a weird encounter. It felt almost surreal. He should try not to run off again. He might not be so lucky. Besides, he couldn't wait to see Lloyd- er, hear Lloyd. Or feel him. Or something. Whatever the case, it would be great to be out of danger. He couldn't wait to get home.

* * *

 **Oh look romance**

 **Owen is mine, I originally had him with a different name but changed it at the last minute, and Simon belongs to one of my RP buddies on G+. Here's to you, Adam.**

 **~FFF**


	30. Chapter 30

**Ok done obsessing over the father's day oneshot back to normal writing**

 **Review replies:**

 **Kat: I never kid. *dead serious voice***

 **ImpossibleGirl: Absolutely. I'm in this RP group on google plus, and in it Indigo's about 70 at this point and has adopted 3 kids.**

 **Ninjachief: Ahh, yes, I remember now. I'll definitely take you up on that when I come up with something :D I've had other people tell me that too! I guess that's what I get for writing hundreds of thousands of words of fics about her. Glad you liked it! I kinda thought people wouldn't like it as much since it was very OC centric, but it actually was really popular. :)**

 **Nicktastic: Indigo 2 is good**

 **Amber: Of course it was. I'm always unpredictable.**

 **Ebony: Pshh, he'll be fine. And yeah. Finally they meet someone who doesn't want to murder them. I thought that would be a nice change.**

 **Windy: He already freaked out. Yep, that's my channel! And thanks! I'm glad you had a good vacation!**

* * *

Chapter 30

Lloyd tapped his fingers impatiently on the cuff on his wrist, waiting expectantly for the others to return with Morro. It had been over 24 hours now since they left, and he had been starting to get worried until about an hour ago, when Kai had radioed them to let them know they were safe. They had rescued Morro, who was blind but otherwise safe as well. They had been crossing the desert when they called, and it had been little over an hour since then. Were they almost there yet?

"Lloyd, relax." A hand rested on his shoulder, and he looked over his shoulder to see his father standing behind him. "They'll be fine. What can happen to them between the desert and here?"

"I'm not worried, just…" the blond trailed off when he realized that wasn't quite true. "Well, I'm a little worried, but mostly I'm just impatient. I wanna see Morro." His father raised an eyebrow.

"You certainly are very attached to him."

"I don't like him romantically, dad."

"I didn't say that."

"You were thinking it."

"Perhaps."

"You definitely were."

"Mm-hmm. You still like him a lot."

"You like Wu a lot."

"He's my brother."

"Morro's mine."

"Fair enough." His father shrugged. "I understand you miss him."

"You should've let me go." Lloyd mumbled. "Nothing bad happened. See?"

"We know that now, but how could we have known that yesterday? Not only that, but now we know that nothing bad happened without you. They didn't need you, and you didn't have to go out into danger." Lloyd was silent before saying at last,

"They needed Indigo."

"You don't actually know that."

"You don't know they didn't. Not until they get back."

"Then this debate will be postponed until then."

"They're back!" Nya's voice announced through the intercom. "They just entered the village, and are heading our way. Lloyd, don't-" Lloyd tuned her out, standing up and bolting towards the exit of the room. This time, no one was going to stop him from getting to Morro.

TheDarknessReturn

Morro put one foot in front of the other, Indigo and Bansha's hands leading him along as he tried not to trip on his own feet. He could hear the creak of the boards underneath him and the churning sea under that, and he could smell the salt water in the air. He never noticed these sorts of things before, when he could see. Gradually, another sound joined the mix, running footsteps. Coming closer, it sounded like. Suddenly, Kai spoke in an incredulous voice.

"Lloyd? You're supposed to stay at the base!"

"No, I'm supposed to stay in sight!" Lloyd! "And I am in sight!"

"Yeah, but you should still-" The rest of Kai's words were lost on Morro as a body slammed into his, arms wrapping around him tight as he stumbled back.

"Lloyd?" The ghost returned the hug, one hand reaching up to touch the other's hair. Felt like Lloyd.

"Y-yeah, it's me." The blond squeezed him tighter. "A-are you okay? Other than being blind?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Blinding me was all the evil Morro did to me."

"I-I'm glad. N-not that you're blind, but that you're not hurt." Lloyd pressed his face against his shoulder. "I was so worried…"

"I heard. I also heard you reacted… badly, when told you couldn't come." The green ninja was silent for a moment.

"It's true. I went nuts."

"You never used to be like this. What's wrong?"

"I… let's talk about this later. In private." Lloyd gave him one final squeeze before pulling away and taking his hand. They walked the rest of the way back to the base hand in hand, Indigo taking Morro's other hand in case he tripped. When they got back, there was a brief celebration that Morro had gotten back safe, then the subject changed to what to do with Indigo. Morro was pretty sure he heard Lloyd give her a high five when the others' attention was elsewhere.

"Do you think locking her up would be too much?" Morro heard Kai say when he next started paying attention.

"Um, yes?" Indigo sounded offended. "Why are you guys even allowed to punish me? You don't own me."

"Nobody said they owned you. But you're a member of the team. We can discipline you."

"Since when am I part of the team?"

"You've been part of the team for months!"

"Since when?"

"Since you came to live with us!" Jay interjected. "And started going on missions! Only team members can go on missions!"

"You made that up." Indigo huffed.

"No I didn't."

"No he didn't." Cole agreed. Indigo groaned.

"Just because I help you doesn't mean you can lock me up without me putting up a fight."

"No one said you wouldn't put up a fight."

"You think you can beat me?"

"Sure. Easily."

"Without killing me?"

"Slightly more difficult, but yes."

"Try it!" Loud groans from the ninja.

"Get back here! We didn't even agree to lock you up yet!"

"And I don't plan to wait until you do!" Morro heard soft footsteps running away, though the others didn't appear to notice them.

"Well great." Jay sighed. "Whatever. She'll come back. She likes Morro. We can use him as bait."

"Ex _cuse_ me." Morro glared in what he assumed was Jay's direction. "I am _not_ letting you use me as bait for my girlfriend."

"You don't have to. You're already bait. Just keep doing what you're doing." The wind master rolled his eyes, but didn't answer.

"C'mon, Morro, I'll lead you around the base." Lloyd tugged on his hand and pulled him out of the room, leading him slowly down a hall. Morro reached out with his free arm to trail his fingers along the wall, trying to remember the path he was taking. "So… earlier you asked me what was wrong." The blond said after a few moments. Morro nodded.

"Yeah."

"And I don't… I don't know. I… when they told me I couldn't go, I kinda… panicked. I got so scared for you that I was willing to fight my friends to get to you." He stopped walking. "I dunno what happened, and I… I don't want it to happen again." He was silent for a few moments. "But I don't want to get left behind again next time either."

"Lloyd… you know how big of a responsibility being the green ninja is. You can't just think about your wants and needs. You need to protect the golden power as well."

"I know. But I can protect myself!" Morro imagined he looked either determined or angry. "I can use my powers to fight – and win!"

"But you could be caught by surprise, and knocked out or chained so you were powerless. And with you, Morro could threaten us all into surrendering. Morro needs you to win. And so do we. If he gets his hands on you, it's over. He made the mistake of letting you go once, he won't make it again." Lloyd's grip on his hand loosened a bit.

"I know. But… if you're blind, you won't be able to go on missions either, will you?"

"No I won't."

"Oh. Good." Without warning, Lloyd hugged him again. "I mean… not good that you're blind, but…"

"I get it." Morro chuckled softly, hugging him back and resting his chin on his shoulder. They were both quiet for a few moments before the ghost asked, "Where am I sleeping now?"

"There's some space in my room. This base isn't very big, so a lot of bedrooms have to be shared." Lloyd pulled away again and took his hand, leading him slowly down the hall before turning a corner, then turning again, opening a door, and heading into what was presumably his room. Lloyd took him by the wrist and lead him around the room, touching his hand to things and telling him what they were. When they got to the bed, Lloyd asked, "Do you wanna rest? I'll ask the others to get another bed in here, but you can sleep in mine for now."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Morro nodded, and Lloyd let go of his hands so he could climb onto the bed. After feeling around for the headboard so he wouldn't knock his head against it, he lay down on the pillow, closing his eyes and resting his arms next to it.

"If you need anything, I'll be back soon." Morro heard footsteps, then a door opening, the shutting. A few moments of silence passed, then a quiet, creaking footstep caught his attention. Then a voice.

"Hi."

"Hi Indigo." He murmured without looking up – since that, of course, would be useless.

"Do you think I should've stay behind?" She asked, getting straight to the point.

"No."

"Good." She sounded relieved. "Lloyd said you would be scared, blind and locked up, and that he or I should go to calm you down. They said Bansha would be could enough."

"I'm glad Bansha was there, but I'm glad you were too. I love you both." Morro opened his eyes a slit, but saw nothing, obviously.

"I'm glad. I would've felt bad if you'd wanted me to stay behind too." He felt the mattress shift, then Indigo's arms wrapped around him from behind, her body fitting itself against his. He chuckled.

"Tired?"

"Nah. Just wanna cuddle."

"That works." He closed his eyes again. "Don't get caught."

"Don't worry, I'm invisible."

"Good." Morro relaxed, letting his breathing even out. Soon, he had drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **Garmadon: Lloyd r u like... gay**

 **Lloyd: no dad wtf I have a gf**

 **Garmadon: ok son just making sure bc you act really gay**

 **Lloyd: dAD STOP**

 **so like... I was having trouble focusing while typing this in so I apologize for any mistakes lol**

 **~FFF**


	31. Chapter 31

**I have 6 minutes so I can't do review replies but**

 **ninjachief when you said I could request a oneshot did you mean of your stories or just ninjago in general?**

* * *

Chapter 31

"Don't move a muscle." Lloyd woke up to something cold and metal pressing against the side of his head. His first instinct was to jerk away, but he remembered the threat and slowly let out a breath instead.

"Who's there?" He asked, opening his eyes a slit. All he could see was a dark shape at the edge of his vision, and Morro sleeping on his bed on the other side of the room.

"That's none of your business." The voice – a female one – hissed in reply.

"Uh, it kinda is, considering you're threatening me and presumably holding a weapon to my head." He heard a click.

"Shut up and come with me." A hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him upright. "And don't make any attempt to escape or call for help, or I'll blow your brains out." A gun. She had a gun. "Get up!" Slowly, he stood up, casting a wistful glance at Morro before walking out of the room and into the hall.

"Towards the dining room." She ordered, and he obeyed. He was trying his best to stay calm, but panic was rapidly rising in the pit of his stomach. Who was she? What did she want from him? What was she going to do with him? He heard another click from the gun and flinched but nothing happened so he kept going. When they came to the meeting room, the girl grabbed him firmly by the shoulder, pressing the gun against the side of his head and saying loudly,

"Surrender." She cocked the gun. "Or else." All eyes turned to them, and Bansha exclaimed,

" _You!_ "

"Kai, get back!" Nya 2 exclaimed as Kai 1 shot to his feet with a murderous look on his face.

"That's right, get back." The girl sounded satisfied. "All I have to do is squeeze my finger a bit, and it's bye-bye greenie. All of you get on that side of the room." The girl paused as everyone shuffled over to stand by the far wall. "You, water lady. Call everyone to come here." Nya hesitated, then nodded, turning around and pressing the intercom button.

"Everyone, come to the meeting room. Do not bring weapons, Lloyd's life is at stake." There was silence for a while, then Lila, some ninja doubles, and his father came through the entrance on the opposite wall. His father gasped at the sight of him with a gun to his head.

"Lloyd!"

"I'm okay, dad." Lloyd tried to smile, but it was faint and ended up more like a grimace.

"For now he is." The girl threatened. "Now why isn't everyone here? We're missing Morro and his girlfriend."

"Morro was-" Lloyd started, but he broke off with a yelp as the gun went off next to his ear. She shoved him to his knees, and he stared at the floor, breathing shallow as he lifted a hand to his head. He was half convinced she had shot him in the head, and he was in shock and hadn't registered the pain yet. Fortunately, there was no hole in his head. She must've fired a blank or at the ceiling. He looked up as the others began shouting his name. "I'm o-okay…" He stammered.

"Don't talk, brat." The girl hissed. "Now listen up," she addressed the others. "You are all going to chain yourselves up – in vengestone for the elemental masters – and follow me to the Capitol. If any of you do not comply, or if I see any attempts to attack me – or even something that just _looks_ like an attack – I will shoot Lloyd to death. Is that clear?" There were halfhearted murmurs of agreement from the others.

"I… don't think we have enough vengestone cuffs for everyone." Nya 1 spoke up hesitantly.

"Fine. Then chain the water masters and the ghosts with vengestone, Morro will deal with the others when you get to the castle. Now move!" The others started slowly walking out of the room, and Lloyd squeezed his eyes shut. Who was this girl? Why was she turning them in? And was this it? Had they lost?!

Suddenly, the girl stumbled forward onto the ground, the gun clattering onto the floor. As he watched in shock, it rose into the air and pointed at the girl. Then a hand appeared, followed by a hand, an arm, a body, and a head. Indigo!

"No, _you_ don't move a muscle." She said in a snarky tone.

"Indigo!" Lloyd jumped to his feet and hugged her, nearly knocking her over.

"Hey, whoa, careful! I've got a gun!" She awkwardly put one arm around his shoulders and patted his back.

"Sorry." He pulled away, grinning, then looked down at the girl on the floor, finally getting a good look at his attacker. She sure _looked_ evil, with pitch black hair and pale, scarred skin. Not to mention the murderous glint in her eyes.

"Nice to see you again, Charlie." Indigo said in a sarcastic voice.

"Only friends call me Charlie." The girl on the ground narrowed her eyes.

"You have friends? That's impressive."

"I think it-"

"Guys, can I shoot her?" Indigo cut her off before she could finish.

"Yes." Bansha said firmly.

"No!" Kai shook his head quickly. "Do unto others as you would have them do to you. No shooting."

"She shot me first." Bansha deadpanned. "I should do unto her the same thing."

"Not how it works. 'Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord'." Jay piped up.

"Oh fine. Can't we at least shoot her in the foot?"

"No."

"What's going on?" Lloyd turned around to see Morro standing in the doorway behind him, one hand on the frame as he stared straight ahead.

"Some girl broke into the base and snuck up on me, then put a gun to my head and threatened to kill me if everyone didn't surrender." Lloyd explained. "Indigo tackled her and is now training her own gun on her."

"Why do you have to tell him that? She's right in front of him." Charlie muttered.

"Your Morro blinded me." Morro replied simply.

"Sorry I left you back there, I heard the gunshot and came to check it out." Indigo apologized, presumably to Morro, not looking up from the girl on the floor.

"Gunshot?" Morro echoed in alarm. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No, she shot at the ceiling to shut Lloyd up." Cole 2 replied.

"Hey, since I saved everyone's butts, am I released from whatever punishment you had for me?" Indigo asked. The ninja exchanged glances, then Kai 1 shrugged.

"I guess."

"Cool. Somebody get some chains for her." Indigo nodded towards the door, and Dyana headed off to get a pair of cuffs.

"Indigo, you don't have to keep that gun aimed at her." Cole 2 spoke up. "Gun safety 101: Don't aim a gun at something unless you intend to shoot at it."

"If it's the 101st rule, it must not be very important." Indigo replied. "And she just had a gun _pressed against Lloyd's head._ I think she deserves to have a gun pointed at her for a few minutes."

"That's not… that's not what it means…" Cole trailed off as Dyana reentered the room with a pair of vengestone handcuffs. Charlie snorted.

"I'm not an elemental master. You don't have to bother with those."

"That's exactly what an elemental master would say." Dyana raised one eyebrow, then knelt on the floor next to her. "Give me your hands. If you don't, Indigo, you have permission to shoot her in the foot."

"Alright, alright! Jeez…" The girl lifted her arms, letting the brunette chain her as she muttered under her breath.

"Now on your feet." Dyana stood up and Charlie followed. "Indigo, put the gun down." The ghost nodded, un-cocking the gun, setting the safety, then setting it on the floor while Dayna marched the gunwoman out of the room.

"Lloyd, I wanna show you something." Lloyd felt a tug on his arm, and turned around to see Morro pulling on his sleeve.

"Yeah?"

"Come with me." The wind master lead him out of the room and down the hall, his free hand trailing along the wall so he didn't hit it. He was getting better at maneuvering. He lead them into a storage room, a large, mostly empty room on the edge of the base. "Now," Morro let go of him and went to stand in the middle of the room. "Stand anywhere, and I'll try to tell where you are." Lloyd raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"Okay." The blond walked over to behind him. "Where am I?"

"Behind me. That was too easy." Morro folded his arms. "You talked."

"Fine." As quietly as he could, Lloyd moved over to his right. For a moment, he felt a breath of wind.

"You're right there." The ghost pointed directly at him.

"Hmm." He was good. Lloyd snuck around to his front-left.

"Right there." Morro pointed at him again.

"How are you doing that?" the blond asked, bewildered. "Can you see? Are you hearing me?"

"Neither!" Morro grinned. "I can use my powers to tell where things are! If I send out wind-" He blew a light breeze in his direction. "-I can feel when it hits things! And I feel when you move, you're displacing air and making wind! I can feel that!"

"That's awesome! Can you feel little movements?" Lloyd felt up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"No idea. Can't do movements that small yet." Morro shook his head. "Just basic movements."

"Do you think you can fight?"

"Probably. Attack me." The ghost took a fighting stance. Shrugging, Lloyd charged at him, dropping to the ground and aiming a kick at his legs. Morro jumped over it, grabbing Lloyd by the arm and flipping him onto his stomach, putting a foot on his back. "Guess I can."

"Guess you can." Lloyd agreed. "Now get off me."

"Sorry." Morro let him up. "We should go tell the others."

"Yeah. Do you think you can navigate the base now?"

"Probably." Morro blew a breeze at the wall. "Yeah."

"Okay, good. Now I don't have to babysit you anymore."

"Now that's just rude." Morro punched him in the arm.

"No, _that's_ just rude." Lloyd punched him back.

"Don't hit blind people. That's rude."

"Well- well, you're rude."

"You're rude."

"No you."

"You."

"You."

* * *

 **So it's my birthday tomorrow so I won't post a normal chapter**

 **I might post this oneshot that was requested a week or so ago or maybe something super self indulgent**

 **but if y'all wanna give me a gift then reviews are the best one I could get ;3**

 **~FFF**


	32. Chapter 32

**Hello I live**

 **Review Replies:**

 **TheSincereViolinist: I love them.**

 **Kat: She's fabulous. I gave her a random last name in this chapter because you didn't give me one, fyi.**

 **Ebony: So close, and yet, so far.**

 **RosalinaWysteria: Thank you!**

 **Ninjachief: I'm glad you liked that. I was hoping someone would enjoy that. xD**

 **MLGbilcipher: I've seen hands of time. And yeah, she was a decent mother for once. I'm proud of her.**

 **Nicktastic: They're good at that. And yeah, especially since I said "give me evil ocs".**

 **Draconis: Ayy cool! And yep. He's clever like that.**

 **Guest: What does this mean**

 **Dreamcatchers: I'm glad you like it!**

 **Chan: of course it does.**

 **Windy: It's cool. I revealed it a few chapters ago, sooo... xD Don't worry, there's more Mordigo in this chapter.**

 **Amber: He was never ''helpless'', per se...**

 **Samantha: Thank you!**

 **NinjagoMLP: Thank you!**

 **And to everyone else who wished me a happy birthday, thank you as well! I did have a great birthday, I got both presents I asked for for once! So that's cool!**

 **This chapter is not proofread bc I'm lazy. So I apologize for any mistakes.**

* * *

Chapter 32

"My name is Charlotte Kysata." Charlie muttered, her arms folded as she stared at the floor. "I live in the city of Stiix. I do not know anything about Morro's armies or defenses." It wasn't anything new. Every time they tried to talk to her, she simply repeated the introduction. It was starting to get annoying. Finally, frustrated, Kai and Jay 1 went back to join the others.

"We're not getting anything out of her." The red ninja reported. "She just keeps repeating the same thing over and over again, her name, where she lives, and that she doesn't know anything about Morro or his armies. Unless we can find some way to make her crack, she's a lost cause."

"I could possess her." Morro suggested.

"Good plan. But not you, you're blind. Cole, you do it." Kai ordered. The Coles glanced at each other.

"Uh, which-" Cole 1 started, but Kai interrupted.

"Whichever. I don't care." Cole 1 shrugged, then stood up and left the room.

"I don't see what me being blind has to do with anything." Morro said slowly.

"Well, what if you couldn't see her thoughts and or memories?"

"It's just my eyes that are damaged. I think I would be able to see if I possessed someone." Morro sighed. "It would be nice to be able to see something again." He said quietly.

"Well, maybe you can try later, but we might as well get the information from her first." Kai shrugged. "You know, just in case you can't."

"Alright." Morro shuffled back a step, then turned and quietly left the room. Whatever. Turning the other way, Kai headed back down the hall towards Charlie's cell, entering the prison just in time to see Cole leaving Charlie's body, leaving her to crumple to the floor.

"She really doesn't have any information on Morro. However, she knows a fair amount about Bansha. Her strengths, weaknesses, fears…"

"Good." Kai nodded. "Call everyone to the meeting room. There we'll discuss what to do with this information." The ghost nodded, then locked Charlie up again before walking off. To be honest, Kai really didn't know what to do now. They and Morro were at a stalemate, both waiting for the other to make a move. Should they strike first? Or wait for Morro to? In Kai's expert opinion, they should attack again, after outfitting all the fighters in deepstone so they couldn't get possessed, and free the prisoners. Then take over another city, Jamanikai, perhaps. Then conquer Ninjago City.

Of course, there was still the matter of the Preeminent to deal with. Maybe they could lure her close to the Ocean, then have the Nyas drown her like a rat. Or use the Realm Crystal to send her back to her own Realm. They would make it work somehow. So far, Morro 2 had gotten lucky. He was outmatched, outnumbered, if you didn't count his easily-defeated armies. Once they got rid of the Preeminent, the fool didn't stand a chance.

TheDarknessReturn

Morro stared blankly into space, unseeing eyes aimed towards the ceiling as he lay back on his bed. The others were discussing their next attack on Morro 2, but he didn't think he would be able to add anything of use. He hated being blind. He was still somewhat in denial, but it was clear now that this was permanent. He was blind. Forever.

"Why aren't you at the meeting?" He looked up instinctively at the sounds of Indigo's voice, lowering it again when he realized what he had done.

"I'm of no use there." He muttered in reply.

"Sure you are. People keep…" she trailed off. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay. I'm _blind._ " He narrowed his eyes to glare into the darkness. "And I'm _tired_ of it. I _hate_ this. I want to be able to see! I miss color, I miss not having to feel my way around everywhere! I miss seeing you. I'll never be able to see your eyes again, I'll never be able to see you again." He covered his face with his hands, pressing the heels of his hands against his closed eyes. "I just want to see things again." There was silence for a few moments. Was she still here? Had he chased her off with his ranting? "I'm sorry for yelling." He said quietly, his voice muffled by his hands. "I'm not angry at you."

"It's okay." She was still here. "It could be temporary." She suggested hopefully.

"There hasn't been any change since he blinded me. I can't bear to hope anymore." The wind master mumbled. "I'll just have to… move on with life, I guess." Indigo was quiet for a moment, then he heard quiet footsteps and the bed shifted slightly. Then Indigo lay down, practically on top of him, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her chin on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her back, letting out a soft sigh. "I love you."

"I love you too." She murmured into his shirt. "Morro?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that if you died, then when you reappeared in the Cursed Realm your eyes would be healed?"

"I… maybe?" He perked up a bit. "A ghost's body reforms when they die, so maybe…?"

"Do you think we should try it?"

"Not now, too risky. We don't even know which Cursed Realm I would appear in."

"True. But once we get back to our Ninjago we can!"

"Yeah." Morro allowed himself a small smile. "At least there's a chance I'll be able to see again."

"Lloyd might not let you though. You'll have to argue with him for a while before he lets you die on purpose."

"I don't really need his permission. I can just accidently knock a vase over on myself or something."

"Yeah, but you might hurt his feelings."

"I'm sure I can convince him. And even if it doesn't work, I can get back to Ninjago using my powers like a sonar."

"Yep." Indigo laid the side of her head on his chest. "I like you." She remarked after a few moments.

"Just 'like'?" He teased. "I'm offended."

"Offended by that? You're a wimp."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not." He put his hands at her waist and lifted her up, holding her above him as she let out a squeak.

"Put me down!"

"Who's the wimp now?"

"Still you."

"Pity. Then you can't come down."

"Aww." He felt a breath of air blow past his face.

"Are you trying to hit me?" He guessed.

"I need longer arms."

"Yes you do." His arms were starting to get tired, so he lowered her down on top of him. "There. Happy?"

"Very. Are you going to come to the meeting or just stay here?"

"Stay."

"Okay. I'll stay too." She tucked her chin into the crook of his neck. "Are you tired?"

"A bit."

"Me too." Neither of them spoke after that, just lying there and enjoying each other's presence. After a while, Indigo fell asleep, and, finally, Morro followed suit, lulled to sleep by the sound of his girlfriend's peaceful breathing in his arms.

* * *

 **I'm in love so I'm going to throw my feelings at my fanfiction**

 **~FFF**


	33. You threw it

**hey yall so I have like 2 minutes to post so no review replies sorry but HERE**

 **(also why did I only get 5 reviews last chapter im sad :( )**

* * *

"It feels weird to be wearing deepstone again." Lloyd remarked, tugging at the straps of his borrowed gi.

"What's the difference between it and another gi?" Nya 2 asked.

"Deepstone makes it heavier."

"Ah." It had been decided that the ninja and co would mount another attack on Morro's castle, armed with deepstone and the two water ninjas, to free _all_ the prisoners this time. All the ghosts were staying behind, so there was no risk of them getting killed in a fight, as well as Wu, Dyana, Lloyd 2, and Gin. "Sensei, can you defend the city if Morro A attacks?"

"We should be able to." Wu nodded. "We have a decent fighting force staying behind. We should be fine."

"Good. Everyone else, move out." Kai 1 instructed, and the group moved towards the exit, Morro trailing along behind them. They had agreed to let him tag along to the edge of the village, he wanted to see how well he could navigate with his powers.

The walk through the village was very peaceful, the only sounds being the sounds of life around them and the ocean sloshing lazily against the support beams. Morro and Lloyd had a quiet conversation at the back of the group, discussing what Morro could 'see'. The ghost got a few strange looks from the villagers, but the ninja has previously explained their situation, so no one bothered them. As they neared the bridge, Lloyd heard a sound off to his right, and looked up in search of the source to see a little girl crying in an alley. She looked to be about five or six.

"Hang on a minute." Lloyd slowed to a stop, putting a hand on Morro's arm. "There's a little girl crying over there. I'm gonna go see if she's okay."

"Okay." The ghost nodded. "I'll tell the others." Morro hurried ahead while Lloyd turned, slowly approaching the little girl.

"Hey." He called out softly. "Are you okay?" The little girl looked up at him with wide, teary eyes.

"Y-yeah…" she nodded slightly. "Wh-who are you?"

"I'm Lloyd. What's your name?"

"M-Madilyn…"

"Nice to meet you, Madilyn." He sat down next to her. "Why are you crying?"

"I c-can't find my m-mommy and daddy…"

"Where did you see them last?

"In the m-market in town…"

"Did you get separated from them?"

"Yeah…"

"Do you think they went home looking for you?"

"M-maybe…"

"Where's your house?"

"Th-that way." She pointed. "But I don't w-wanna go alone…"

"I'll come with you." He stood up and offered her a hand, waiting for her to take it and helping her to her feet before letting her lead him off into the alleys, wiping the tears off her face with her sleeve. They walked in mostly silence for a few minutes, the child sniffling from time to time before she stopped in the middle of an empty alley. "What is it?" The blond boy asked.

"I have the funniest feeling…" the girl said in a faraway voice. "That you just got lead into a trap." Lloyd barely had time to register the deep, growling voice before a green, ethereal figure floated up out of her. _Morro._

"Really?" Lloyd took a step back, putting his hands on his hips. "Possessing a little girl? That's low even for you."

"Why not?" Morro 2 grinned, taking a step closer. "She belongs to me. You _all_ belong to me. I can use her body if I wish."

"Okay, that sounds super creepy. And also really gross."

"I- I didn't mean-" Morro's double looked taken aback. "I'm not a pedophile!"

"Sure you're not."

"I'm not!"

"After what you tried to do to Indigo, I doubt it."

"Seriously! Even _I'm_ not that evil!" Morro 2 threw his hands up in the air. "Look, it doesn't matter. I'm taking you prisoner, and if you don't fight then I might not hurt you much." The ghost reached out to possess him, but his hand knocked against Lloyd's gi. "…huh?"

"Deepstone." Lloyd grinned, tapping his shoulder. "Bet you weren't ready for that, were you?"

"I-" Evil Morro appeared to have gone into shock.

"This time, the trapper's trap trapped the trapper." With that, Lloyd tackled him to the ground, grabbing his wrists and pinning him down. This snapped him out of his stupor, and the ghost struggled violently, but couldn't break his hold. Phasing through the ground, Morro tried to escape through the boards, but the blond kept ahold of his wrist with one hand, fumbling for the vengestone cuffs at his waist at the other. Dragging the ghost up a foot, Lloyd cuffed him with one end of the cuffs, rendering his powers useless.

"NO!" Morro screamed, struggling to break his hold. With a shrug, Lloyd let him drop – but only a few feet, as his cuff hit the boards and stopped, leaving Morro dangling over the ocean below. The tyrant let out an almost inhuman scream, scrabbling angrily at the cuff with his other hand. Unfortunately for him, Lloyd caught ahold of his free hand and chained it to the first. Morro was powerless, and he wasn't taking it well at all.

As the ghost struggled and screamed, Lloyd shot a ball of light up in the air, a previously-agreed upon signal for assistance. As it exploded high above him, he grabbed Morro's cuffs and dragged him up through the boards again. Yanking one of his gloves off, Lloyd thrust his hand into Morro's stomach before he could phase through the ground again, hissing,

"If I create a ball of energy right now, it will tear you apart from the inside, very slowly, and very painfully. Do you want that?" Hate-filled eyes boring into his, Morro shook his head no. "Then don't move an inch. And don't think I'll hesitate just because I'm a good guy. After what you've done to my friends, you'll get no mercy from me." Lloyd didn't break eye contact with the tyrant, matching him glare for glare as the minutes slowly ticked by.

Finally, the others arrived, evidenced by the footsteps and murmurs of astonishment behind him. "Guys, look, it's the catch of the day." He quipped, eliciting a growl from his prisoner.

"What- how?" Kai 2 demanded in shock.

"I'll explain in a few minutes. Someone put another pair of cuffs on his ankles." Lloyd instructed, and Jay obeyed as Lloyd created a spark of energy inside his captive – a warning not to try anything. However, it was enough to make the ghost yelp and squirm in pain.

"I didn't move! Why are you hurting me?"

"If this were the other way around, you would've broken both my legs and beaten me into staying still by now." The green ninja gave him a hard look. "Consider yourself lucky that all I've given you is warnings." The ghost growled again, but didn't respond. "Now, will you walk, or do I have to drag you back to the base?"

"I'll walk." The ghost king muttered.

"Good." Lloyd pulled his hand out of him and pulled on his deepstone glove again, hauling Morro to his feet. "Kais, take him. You don't have to be gentle, but don't hurt him either." The red ninjas obeyed, each taking on of the tyrant's arms and glaring at him. Turning away, Lloyd picked up the little girl, who was now unconscious.

"Everyone back to base. We'll have to postpone our rescue mission again." The blond ordered, and the group headed back the way they had come, Morro 2 shuffling along sullenly between the two Kais. Lloyd couldn't stop a grin from spreading over his face. They – _he_ – had just won a great victory. Morro was now their prisoner. Not dead, so he could come back, but completely out of commission. Without him, the world would fall into chaos. It would be easy to reclaim Ninjago. And all they had to do was lock Morro away in a hole somewhere, get rid of the Preeminent, and Ninjago was free again.

They had won.

* * *

 **Morro, this is what we call in league "throwing"**

 **also im going on vacation again starting the 6th and ending the 11th so I won't be gone for as long this time**

 **and lastly even though ninjago is a "boy's show" I'm pretty sure like 90% of the fandom are girls lmao**

 **edit: I accidently pasted it in twice so I had to go and fix it**

 **~FFF**

 **P.S. plz send me love I've had 30 hate messages today and it's starting to wear me down**


	34. Chapter 34

**Hello naughty children it's murder time**

 **Review replies:**

 **Draconis: Makes sense. Those two are great.**

 **Guest: Thank you dear.**

 **Kat: Aww! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy my stories so much!**

 **TheAmberShadow: I said a very offensive word by mistake, and now people are threatening to spread my personal information on the internet and send me bombs. :/**

 **Ebony: Very convenient, I agree. My dare show never took off because it breaks the rules. :P They're threatening to actually hurt me though. For saying one bad word. Tumblr is stupid.**

 **Softcactus: It's okay! And it's not for my writing, I said something offensive by mistake and they refuse to accept my apology. :P Morro has no moral code.**

 **Samantha: Thank you!**

 **Nicktastic: But what if I want to become chara ψ(｀∇´)ψ**

* * *

Chapter 34

This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real.

Morro pressed his hands to the sides of his head, eyes squeezed shut as he tried to get himself to wake up. This – this had to be some sort of terrible dream. He couldn't have lost everything.

He opened his eyes, and he was still in a cell.

Growling, the former king slammed his fist against the bars. How could he have been so stupid?! He thought his plan was foolproof, that Lloyd would never be able to escape. But he had forgotten about deepstone. And Lloyd had attacked him, and _won_. Accused brat!

He would have won if he had just used his powers before he was cuffed. He was a fool.

 _"You are a fool."_ A voice echoed in his head, and he jumped in alarm. Oh no. _"The fact that you are alarm only further proves that you have failed me."_

"M-master, please…" he stammered aloud. "I can get out of here. I haven't failed!"

 _"Do you really think the ninja will give you a chance to escape?"_

"I don't need them to give me anything. I can escape on my own."

 _"And how do you plan to do that?"_

"I'll break through the b-"

 _"Those bars will not break."_

"-bars, or trick them. They are sentimental fools, I can trick them into thinking I am repentant."

 _"Do you really think so? After what you did to this world's Lloyd? And their Morro? And that little girl you stole away from her parents and subjected to the same torment you forced Lloyd to endure? Lloyd said he would have no mercy for you."_

"I can still fool Sens- Wu! I know he still cares about me!"

 _"I am finished with you."_ A pang of alarm went through him.

"Master, please! Give me one more chance, I won't fail you this time!"

 _"This discussion is over."_

"Master-"

 _"Goodbye, Morro."_ And then she was silent.

"NO!" The wind master slammed his fist into the bars again, ignoring the pain that shot through him and throwing another punch. He beat on the bars until his hands were numb, slamming his shoulder against the door when the pain in his arms became too great. Finally, he slumped to the ground, arms and hands black and blue from self-inflicted pain. The door hadn't budged.

This morning, he had ruled the world. Now he was nothing, a pathetic prisoner in his enemy's lair. He had lost everything, and there was no way to get it back. It didn't matter if the ninja lost or won the battle for Ninjago now. No matter who won, he would always be a prisoner. An outcast.

Nothing.

TheDarknessReturn

Lloyd quietly headed down the hall to the prison, stepping and waiting in front of the door to listen before quietly pushing it open. He had a question for Morro. Stepping through the doorway, he expected a taunt or insult, or at the very least a hateful glare, but the former king was silent and still as he pushed the door shut. Was he asleep? Lloyd took a step closer to see that no, his eyes were open. The ghost lay on his side on the ground, staring listlessly at the deepstone bars. His arms were heavily bruised, and one of the bars was bent a bit. Had he been trying to escape?

"What do you want?" Morro muttered, not moving or even looking up.

"Where did you find Madilyn?" Lloyd crossed his arms. "I need to get her home."

"I don't know." The ghost let out an exasperated sigh. "I stole her from her parents in the marketplace. Somewhere in the city."

"Fine." He would have to send out a notice, then. "Are you sorry at all for what you did? Hurting a little girl like that?"

"The only thing I'm sorry for is not killing you when I had you at my mercy." The ghost hissed venomously. Lloyd flinched. That was harsh.

"Fine." Lloyd turned around to leave, but stopped with his hand on the doorknob. "Those bruises… those weren't there before, were they?" Morro was silent for a while before replying,

"No."

"Are they self-inflicted?" Another long silence.

"…yes."

"Why?" The blond turned back around to face him.

"Because you took _everything_ from me." Finally, the ghost lifted his head, glaring at him. "Even if I somehow escape, I've been replaced. The Preeminent is done with me." He sat up, bruised arms shaking as he pushed himself up. "Just do what you threatened to do to me. Torture me, kill me. It doesn't matter. I was stupid, and now I'm worthless. I made one false step, and now I'm nothing." His arms holding him up buckled and he thudded to the ground again, arms covering his face. Through all the hate and rage, he almost seemed… sad. But it had to be a trick.

"You want me to kill you, huh? So you can reappear in the Cursed Realm, free, and get back to your kingdom?" Lloyd folded his arms again. "I'm not falling for any of your tricks."

"I don't have a kingdom anymore! I told you, I've been replaced!"

"And I'm supposed to believe you?" Morro groaned.

"Fine. Leave me here. It doesn't matter."

"Then stop begging me to kill you." Lloyd turned and left the room. Maybe someday they could get through to him, but that day wouldn't be any day soon. For now, he needed to find Madilyn her parents.

TheDarknessReturn

 _"Ninjago is in need of a new ruler."_ Bansha looked up in surprise from the blade she was sharpening at the voice in her head.

"What happened to Morro?" She asked aloud.

 _"He failed me. I got rid of him"_

"I… see." Odd. She had always thought Morro to be a competent leader.

 _"Do not doubt my judgement."_

"I'm not. I am confused, but that is only because I do not know the circumstances. Do you wish for me to find a good replacement for him?"

 _"No. I want you to take his place."_

"Me? But I know nothing about running a king-"

 _"You question my judgement."_

"No! I… yes master." Bansha bowed her head respectfully.

 _"Good. Go to Morro's castle. I will inform the guards of the change in management."_

"Yes, master." Bansha stood, slinging her staff over her shoulder and leaving the room. A pity about Morro. She had rather liked him, in spite of him being a prideful, selfish brat. Still, the Preeminent's word was law. Whatever he had done, it must have been something bad. With the Preeminent's help, Bansha was sure she could be a good replacement.

It was time to make a few changes around here.

* * *

 **This is the part where you realize that the main bad guy... might not actually be the _main_ bad guy.**

 **~FFF**


	35. Chapter 35

**No time for review replies but**

 **for all my USA readers: happy 4th of july**

* * *

Chapter 35

"I don't get it." Cole 1 mused, staring at a monitor. "Everything should be falling apart. Why is security only getting stronger?"

"I do not know." Zane's voice crackled through the video feed. "Perhaps Morro left someone in charge in his absence, and they are increasing defenses since he has not returned."

"Maybe." The two Zanes had gone off on a spying mission to see how Morro's kingdom was faring without him – they didn't think it could be very dangerous with Morro as their prisoner.

"Hold on," Zane spoke again. "There's a team of men in front of the city, tearing down Morro's banners."

"That's odd." Kai 1 frowned. "Why in Ninjago would they do that? They can't know he's our prisoner."

"They're replacing them." Zane continued. "The new ones have some sort of symbol on them… hang on, I'll zoom in." The camera focused on the swirly symbol in the middle of the blue fabric, and Bansha gasped.

"That's my emblem!" Lloyd frowned.

"Your what?"

"Emblem. High ranking officers would sign messages with them." The sorceress explained. "If her symbol is on the banners, then the other me must be in charge."

"But how could she know that Morro's down for the count? She wouldn't replace the banners otherwise."

"The Preeminent coulda told her." A high pitched voice chimed in, and all eyes turned to Madilyn, who was sitting up next to Lloyd on the couch. She had recovered from Morro's possession that morning, and didn't seem too bothered about having to stay with the ninja until they could find her parents.

"But… the Preeminent doesn't talk." Jay 2 frowned. "She's just a big blob."

"She talks with her mind. And she can read people's thoughts. She talked in Morro's head while he was in my body." The girl explained matter-of-factly. The ninja exchanged glances.

"Well… that's good to know." Kai 1 said after a minute. "So she put Bansha in charge?"

"The Preeminent makes all the decisions. She must have."

"Hello, ninja." A cold voice made them all whirl around to face the screen, and they were shocked to see Bansha's masked face staring calmly back at them. "I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your robots' signal, but I need to deliver a message."

"What do you want?" Cole 2 asked, his eyes narrowed into slits.

"First of all, you must have noticed that I am now in charge."

"Yeah, yeah, get on with it."

"Very well." Bansha 2 folded her hands in front of her. "As we speak, my men are rounding up large numbers of innocents from Ninjago city. If you do not surrender before 48 hours pass, I will put them _all_ to death. Do you understand me?" The ninja exchanged looks of horror. Was she serious?

"…what if we just gave you your Morro back?" Kai 1 suggested. Bansha scoffed.

"I have no need for him. The Preeminent is done with him." Lloyd blinked in surprise. He had been telling the truth?

"I…" Cole 1 glanced at the others. "…we'll think about it."

"Think quickly, ninja." With that, the image of her vanished, replaced by a desert and Zane's alarmed voice.

"…ole? Cole! Are you there?!"

"I am now." Cole 1 replied quietly. "Get back here, and hurry. We have to discuss something."

"Affirmative." Zane nodded, then the signal cut out. Lloyd slowly dragged a hand down his face. What were they going to do? They couldn't surrender, they were Ninjago's last hope, but they couldn't let these people die either…

"Madilyn, let's find your parents." Kai 2 stood up. "We need to get you somewhere safe, and your parents must be worried."

"Okay." The little girl nodded, standing up and taking his hand before letting him lead her out of the room. There was silence in the room for a few moments.

"So…" Jay 1 broke it. "Any idea how we get out of this mess?"

"Well… the freedom of all the Realms is more important than the lives of a few people…" Nya 1 said slowly. "But we can't just let her kill them…"

"Maybe she's bluffing?" Jay suggested hopefully.

"I doubt it…" Bansha shook her head. "She does not care about the lives of 'inferior' beings."

"Then… we have no choice." Kai 1 bowed his head. "We have to surrender."

TheDarknessReturn

"Morro?" Morro opened his eyes a slit, debating whether to acknowledge his presence or not. "Morro, wake up." He would just keep bothering him if he didn't, so… the former king rolled over, giving the green ninja a one-eyed glare.

"What do you want?" he muttered.

"Do you want revenge?" Morro frowned, lifting his head.

"That's what I've been doing for the last 25 years of my life. Why even ask?"

"Not on me. On the Preeminent. For ditching you." What?

"I thought you didn't believe me."

"Bansha confirmed it." Bansha?

"Is she in charge, then?"

"Yes."

"Maybe I do want revenge. How do I get it?"

"Help us defeat Bansha." The ghost snorted.

"So you're just trying to get me to help you. It won't work. The others will never trust me enough to fight alongside me."

"I don't want you fighting alongside us. I want you to help us figure out _how_ to beat her." The ghost frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"She claims to have captured lots of innocent people, and she says she'll kill them if we don't surrender."

"Easy. Leave them to die."

"No, we're the good guys. We don't do that."

"Well, then…" Morro trailed off. "Look, there's no point in me telling you anything. The Preeminent can read my mind. If I know your plan, so will she." Lloyd frowned.

"Oh. I hadn't thought about that." He sighed. "Well, thanks anyway."

"Thanks? For what?"

"Pointing that out to me. It proves that, if nothing else, you hate the Preeminent more than you hate me."

"Oh." True. "I guess I do."

"That's nice to know." Lloyd smiled at him – a genuine smile – and left the room. Was Lloyd… happy with him? That was a weird feeling. But it wasn't a bad feeling. He kinda liked it.

Even when he had ruled the world, he had never really been happy. He had tried gaining more power, more armies, more land, but it was never enough. Torturing his enemies had brought him more satisfaction, but it was only temporary. TO have someone actually be pleased with him, even his worst enemy… he felt… a bit happy.

But no. He couldn't think like that. He couldn't let himself get "reformed" like that weakling double of his. He had to stay strong. Not let anyone determine his destiny.

He had to look out for himself, and no one else.

* * *

 **I'll try to get out another update tomorrow, but I can't be sure. I leave early Thursday morning, so tomorrow's my last chance.**

 **~FFF**


	36. Chapter 36

**I just realized I forgot Charlie's supposed to be in jail**

 **oops**

 **Review replies:**

 **Windy: YES that was ABSOLUTELY from HttYD and I cracked up every time after reading that again.**

 **Ebony: He's stubborn.**

 **PastelninjaMelanie: As long as it's understandable, I don't mind :)**

 **Amber: Maybe. You never know. :)**

 **Samantha: We'll see.**

 **MLGBilCipher: I think it's Amino. Or Animo. Not sure which. Nicole works, right?**

* * *

Chapter 36

"No offense, but this plan stinks." Indigo said bluntly as Kai locked black cuffs around her wrists.

"Full offense, but I agree." Cole 1 shook his head. "I mean, we're literally walking _right_ into Bansha's base. In chains."

"Yeah, but not the way she thinks we are." Lloyd put his hands on his hips. "C'mon guys, it'll be fine."

"If you say so." Indigo muttered. After brainstorming for a few hours, the ninja had decided to pretend to surrender, locking themselves up in chains made of brittle, vengestone-lookalike metal that they could break easily, and then attacking and taking over Ninjago city. Bansha had called them again a couple hours before, expressing her approval when they told her they surrendered, and pressing them to bring _all_ of their allies, leaving none behind who could rise up against her.

So they were bringing everyone, including the Senseis and Lloyd 2. They would have to help the latter across the desert, since he was still on crutches and couldn't walk by himself chained. Bansha had given them around three days to get there before she started killing hostages, so they planned to leave that evening so they could get across most of the desert at night.

Before they could leave, however, Lloyd had one more thing he had to do. Heading to the kitchen, Lloyd took a package of dried meat – well, fish, since they lived next to an ocean – and brought it to Morro 2 in the prison. The ghost was sitting up this time, leaning against the wall, and looked up when he entered.

"What's that?"

"Food." Lloyd replied simply, pushing it through the bars. "We're leaving tonight. I don't know when we'll be back, and I don't want you to go hungry."

"But why do you care? I'm your enemy." The former king frowned.

"You're still a person, and you don't deserve to suffer." Lloyd shrugged. "It's probably not very good, but it's dry, so you can't hurt yourself with it. Enjoy." The blond turned and left, heading back upstairs. Time to get this show on the road.

TheDarknessReturn

They had arrived.

Lloyd approached Morro's – well, Bansha's – castle for the fourth time in the last month. Time flies when you're trying to save the world. No one bothered them as they marched through the city, in chains, Bansha's guards following them at a distance. Probably watching for any sign of resistance.

Morro was lagging behind, staring listlessly at the ground as he put one foot in front of the other. It didn't look like he liked this plan any more than Indigo and Cole did. And, by the depressed look on his face, he was probably upset about being blind again. Lloyd slowed down to join him, just in time too as the ghost tripped on an uneven cobblestone and fell forward, fortunately into Lloyd's grasp.

"You okay?" The blond asked as he helped him stand up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The ghost nodded. "Thanks for catching me."

"Good. But are you okay emotionally? You look kinda sad."

"I dunno. Just tired of being blind, I guess." Lloyd frowned.

"I could ask the other Morro if there's a cure when we get back."

"I doubt it. But you might as well, if there's any way I can see again, I'll take it." Morro closed his eyes. "Are we close?"

"To the castle?"

"Yeah."

"Kinda. But we've fallen behind the others. Let's get moving." Lloyd took his arm and they walked along together, hurrying to catch up with the rest of the group. Bansha's guards, he noticed, were gone. Either they had left, or they had noticed they had been seen and retreated out of sight. Either way, they were probably being watched somehow.

Bansha was standing at the gate, five more soldiers on either side of her as she stood with her hands behind her back. She was silent and expressionless as the guards next to her pulled the gate open, turning and walking back towards the castle as the ninja passed through it. An unspoken order to follow her. She lead them through the large doors into the main hall. Instead of heading into the throne room, however, she turned down and lead them down into the dungeon. Alone.

What was she planning to do? Even if these were real cuffs, they could still overpower her together if she was alone. Instead of attempting to lock them up, she stopped at the end of the hallway, gesturing to the cells on either side of the hall. A glance both directions revealed that they were stuffed full of prisoners, human men, women, and children, who were wide eyed and silent, probably threatened not to speak.

"Well?" Lloyd 2 broke the silence. "We're here. Let them go."

"No." Bansha 2 said bluntly. Lloyd narrowed his eyes.

"We followed your orders. We surrendered. What more do you want?"

"I told you to bring all your allies."

"…and? We did."

"You're missing one."

"What? Who?"

"The little girl I saw behind you when I spoke with you the first time."

"Wh- she's not an ally! She's just a kid that Morro possessed to try to get close to us!" Lloyd 2 protested. "We took her back to her parents!"

"Is she on my side?"

"Uh… no."

"Then she's on yours. She is an ally."

"She's just a kid! What use could you have for her?"

"I don't. But I told you to bring all your allies or I would kill the people."

"You're just making excuses so you can kill us all!" Lloyd snapped.

"Maybe I am. But since you wrapped yourselves up for me so nicely, what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to KILL YOU!" Lloyd yanked his wrists apart, the chain snapping easily as he shot a ball of green energy at her. She ducked under it, rolling forward and drawing her staff as the rest of the group snapped their cuffs as well.

"So you tricked me as I tricked you." She sounded amused. "What you don't know is I have a second trick up my sleeve." Her form flickered for a moment – was she trying to turn invisible? Whatever she was trying to do, it didn't do much, as she charged at them, her staff held in front of her. When Jay 1 raised an arm to block her strike, Lloyd was shocked to see that the blade went right through him. The blue ninja yelped, then turned around in confusion to face her.

"Did… you forget to turn off ghost mode?" He asked, tilting his head.

"No." Bansha's voice didn't come from her body, but behind him, and Lloyd whirled around to see her appear behind Kai 2 and press her blade to his neck. The red ninja went still, eyes wide as the fire in his hand went out. "You're not chained, but this works just as well."

"Let him go." Lloyd 2 growled, clutching Sensei's arm with both his hands to stay upright.

"I think not." Bansha pressed the blade harder against Kai's throat and a trickle of blood ran down into his shirt. "Not until you lock yourselves up- for _real_ this time – and bring me _all_ your allies, not just the ones in your base."

"…what other allies are there?"

"Ronin. Tara. The people of Stiix."

"Okay, first of all, Tara? What?" Lloyd broke in. "Secondly, you want us to convince the entire city of Stiix to come give themselves up to be tortured? _That's_ totally gonna happen."

"So you refuse?"

"Yes."

"Very well then."

Bansha slit Kai's throat.

* * *

 **well I'm off to Tennessee**

 **ta-ta**

 **~FFF**


	37. Chapter 37

***slowly peeks around the corner* hi- *ducks back to avoid flying chair***

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: :) I am real happy with myself. And yes, that was totally Reena giving her a hand.**

 **Nicktastic: :))**

 **PastelNinjaMelanie: Anything she wants. :)))**

 **Ninjachief: Skillet is my jam :D He totally should. But first he needs more Lloyds. And I don't think Lloyd 2 is really inclined to join in. And no, I haven't seen it. I really didn't even know it was out. xD When I find myself obsessed with something else, I write fanfiction of it except I replace the characters with ninjago characters. Then I get bored of it and go back to doing normal fanfictions. :)**

 **Impossiblegirl: Yes that is totally a reference to defenders of berk! also yes I love them**

 **Samantha: :))))**

 **Guest: YES ONE DOES :)))))**

* * *

Chapter 37

Lloyd was frozen, staring in horrified shock as Kai 2's body thudded to the ground. He- he was dead?!

"NO!" He heard the other Lloyd scream. He sounded so far away, even though he was right behind him. He couldn't be dead. Not just like that. He just couldn't.

"GET HER!" Nya screamed, and Lloyd heard yelling and saw movement, but he couldn't move. He was paralyzed with shock. He couldn't pull his eyes away from Kai's body on the ground.

"Lloyd!" A hand grabbed his shoulder, and he turned around with blurring vision to see Morro gripping his shoulder, wide eyes staring in his general direction. "You have to help fight!"

"I- I-" Lloyd shook his head, tearing his eyes away from kai. "I-I'll fight…" Now that he looked around, he saw the ghosts floofing down the tunnel towards them. Blinking back the tears that threatened to fall, Lloyd summoned a ball of energy and let out a battle cry as he charged towards the ghosts. The battle went by in a blur. He could barely even hear the sounds of fighting, everything was a whirl of noise. As the tears, unwanted as they were, began to trickle down his face, a shout from behind made him freeze in place.

"Wait!" Looking over his shoulder, Lloyd had to dry his eyes in order to prove to himself that what he was seeing was real. A ghost stood over Kai's body, his arms out in a 'calm down' gesture. A ghost with spiky hair. And a red gi. And a scar over his eye. "I'm alright."

"KAI!" Scrambling to his feet and ignoring his broken leg, Lloyd 2 threw himself at his brother, squeezing him tight as he shook with sobs.

"Heyy, it's okay, I'm okay…" Kai 2 hugged him back, rocking him back and forth. Lloyd allowed his tears to fall as well. Somehow, Kai was cursed, not dead.

"That… was not supposed to happen." Bansha 2 muttered. "Whatever." Grabbing a bucket, the sorceress scooped up some water from the ground – she was _fearless_ – and grabbed Kai 2's shoulder, holding it over him threateningly. "Surrender, or I won't kill him, just torture him until he begs for death." She hissed. The group was silent. Abruptly, the bucket tipped backwards, and the contents splashed over Bansha, who let out a shriek as she vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Did that work?" Lloyd turned around to see Morro standing behind him, one arm outstretched in Bansha's direction.

"Yes it did." The blond confirmed as the rest of the ninja let out a cheer, the #2 ninja tackling Kai to the ground.

"How are you alive?" Cole 2 asked as they sat up a few moments later to let him breathe.

"I don't- I don't know." The brunette shook his head, grinning. "I just… was dying, and all of a sudden I just kinda floated out of my body, and I was a ghost." He looked over at his dead body, shuddering. The body was still bleeding, Kai's lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. "Never thought I'd see myself dead."

"I don't care how you're okay." Lloyd 2's voice was muffled, still pressed into his chest. "I'm just glad you are."

"I'm glad too." The ghost smiled and patted his head. "I don't want to lose you just yet." Lloyd 2 didn't move for a couple minutes longer before sitting up and drying his eyes.

"We gotta free the prisoners." He said, his voice wavering a bit. "Help me up." Kai 2 stood up, then carefully helped him to his feet.

"Sensei Garmadon, you're probably a better choice to keep him steady, I'll probably lose concentration and drop him."

"Good idea." Dad nodded and stepped over, letting Lloyd's double put an arm around his shoulders and holding him up. Turning to the cell doors, Cole 1 yelled,

"Everyone stand back! We're gonna start breaking down doors!" The ghost clenched his hands into fists as the prisoners shuffled away from the doors, then he frowned. "Oh crap. Vengestone."

"Here's some keys!" Jessica piped up from the back of the group, holding up a ring of black keys.

"There we go. Start unlocking doors." The brunette nodded, running down to the end of the hall and unlocking the door of the farthest cell before moving on to the next. As soon as the door was open, the people inside flooded out, murmuring their thanks. They still seemed scared.

"We have a few hours before Bansha and her armies come back." Cole 2 assured them. "We're safe." More murmurs.

"What about them, then?" One woman called out, pointing at the good Morro and Bansha.

"See how there's two of some of us?" Jay 2 gestured to his double. "We called in reinforcements from another timeline. In it, these two are good guys."

"Oh." The people seemed more relaxed after that.

"Everyone, go out of the dungeon and wait at the top of the stairs. There isn't room in this hall for everyone." Sensei Wu instructed. "Nya A, escort them." Nya 2 nodded, leading the group up and out of the hallway. Jessica continued unlocking doors, and they sent each group up to join the others. Once all the cells in the hall were empty, they moved onto the next. They kept letting out prisoners, mostly random humans and occasionally an elemental master. Finally, Jessica stopped short in front of one of the cells.

"Uh, my Lloyd, you might wanna see this." Frowning, Lloyd walked over and peered through the bars for a moment before his mouth dropped open in shock.

" _Tori?"_ The girl in the cell looked up in surprise, then her face broke into a grin.

" _Lloyd?_ Oh my gosh, it's been years since I've seen you!" She jumped to her feet, looking genuinely excited to see him.

"Um… not that long for me." Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "And, technically, you've never seen me before."

"Huh?"

"Tori!" Lloyd 2 hobbled over and grabbed the keys from Jessica, fumbling to unlock the door. Once he got it open, he staggered backwards to let her open it, but tripped and fell, fortunately onto the other Lloyd, who caught him. The blond girl stepped out of the cell, staring at the pair with narrowed, confused eyes.

"Um… is this another one of my weird dreams?"

"No, he's from another timeline. We went there to get help with Morro." Lloyd 2 nodded up at his double.

"Ohh. So, wait, what did you mean by it wasn't long for you?" Tori frowned up at Lloyd. "Did you see your version of me recently?"

"Yeah, uh… when you captured me and all my friends and threatened to torture them if I didn't date you."

"I… what?" The blond girl's eyes went wide. "I don't even like you that way!"

"I'm glad." Lloyd 2 piped up, struggling to stand. "That sounds like a mess. But how have you been? I haven't seen you in like eight years!"

"Well, after you left, I kinda… did some bad stuff. I took over my village, then when Ninjago city sent people to arrest me, I escaped and got into illegal tea trafficking." She shook her head. "I screwed up, I know. But when Morro took over, I finally lost the battle with my conscience and became a force for good. That is, until I got caught and locked up"

"Morro taking over benefited you, then." Lloyd spoke up. "In my universe, you left to join the Overlord, and are currently locked up in an insane asylum." Tori winced.

"Yeah, I'd hate for that to happen to me." She helped Lloyd 2 to his feet. "What happened to your legs?"

"Well-"

"You can catch up as we walk, guys," Kai 2 interrupted. "We gotta keep letting people out."

"Okay." Tori and Lloyd 2 migrated to the back of the group, chatting about everything that had happened. Lloyd found himself feeling a bit jealous. He wished he could have that kind of relationship with Tori. They kept going, releasing every prisoner they came across, until they came to a solid deepstone door at the end of the last hallway. Jessica glanced at Lloyd, then opened it. It had seven locks, each requiring a different key. When it was finally pulled open, there was nothing inside but darkness, and a far, far away speck of light.

"What… is this place?" Zane 2 spoke up softly, voicing the question on everyone's minds.

"We'll have to go in to find out." Cole 1 replied slowly. "Kais, Lloyd 2, stay back and watch the exit in case we're attacked." The three nodded, Tori joining them as they sat down next to the open door. The rest of the group walked down into the darkness, slowly approaching the speck of light at the end of the tunnel. As they got closer, the speck of light became a figure, a body slumped back against the wall that glowed a soft green. Who could that be? When they got within thirty feet of them, Bansha gasped softly.

"Soul Archer?" She whispered in shock. Her voice carried in the long chamber, and the figure shifted, lifting his head slightly.

"Bansha?" A guff, hoarse voice replied. The group increased their pace, and the archer came into view, his clothing dirty and torn and his arms chains to the wall behind him.

"Why are you here?" The sorceress asked in shock, stopping and kneeling in front of him.

"You… do not remember?" The older ghost closed his eyes, lowering his head again. "You were there…"

"No I wasn't. I'm from another universe. It's complicated." Soul Archer looked up at her with a frown, then past her, at the ninja.

"I… alright. I betrayed Morro, I thought I could take control…" He shifted slightly. "I failed… the Preeminent promised to help me, but she did not when the time came… Morro locked me up here, I haven't seen another soul in months…" Soul Archer lowered his head further. "****, if only I had just stayed in the Cursed Realm… now every realm is as horrible as that place…" Jay 1 snapped his fingers.

"That's why Kai didn't die!" He exclaimed. "The realm is cursed! He just turned into a ghost like Indigo did!" Lloyd frowned. Yeah, that did make sense.

"Come back with us." Bansha was saying to the ghost chained to the wall. "The ninja have a plan to beat the Preeminent, they can free the realm!"

"But if the realm is freed… I will be sent back… after all I've done…" The Archer muttered. He really sounded like he was repentant of what he had done.

"No. In my universe, Morro and I live in Ninjago, with the ninja, no less. They will protect you." The blademistress insisted. The archer was silent for a few moments, then gave a single nod.

"I will join you. Unchain me. Though, at the moment, I barely have the strength to speak."

"Give me the keys." Bansha ordered, turning to Jessica. The brunette obeyed, and the ghost woman unlocked the archer's cuffs, catching him by the arms as he slumped forward. "Cole, help me carry him." Cole 1 came over, pulling one of Soul Archer's arms around his shoulders as Bansha did the same with the other, lifting him up.

"If… we are attacked… I will slow you down…" the older ghost murmured, eyes closed as he held onto the two holding him up as best as he could.

"The others can fight, I'm not leaving you behind." Bansha shook her head, adjusting her grip on him slightly. "Let's get out of here before the other me comes back."

* * *

 **A _ghost?_ He's supposed to be _dead!_**

 **For the record, illegal teas are magic, and like... dangerous. The reason Tori went nuts in the normal world is because she basically overdosed on drugs.**

 **Also, I want you all to just take a moment to imagine what had happened if Soul Archer had taken over, and Morro was the one locked underground for months.**

 **~FFF**


	38. Chapter 38

**it's 11 PM and I need to sleep so no review replies**

 **I poured my blood sweat and tears into this chapter enjoy**

* * *

"Here." Bansha handed Soul Archer a slice of bread, which he immediately began to eat. "Don't eat too fast, you'll make yourself sick."

"I'm already dead." He gave her a half smile. "It can't get much worse than this, can it?"

"I suppose not." The ninja had taken Soul Archer back to the base, and given him a room where he could rest and recover. Bansha had taken it upon herself to take care of him, it seemed. Lloyd was surprised how attached to him she seemed to be – she had never shown any signs of missing their Soul Archer back in their timeline. The Archer himself, Lloyd noticed, looked very different without the hood. He had a light beard over the lower half of his face, and, unlike Bansha, fairly normal grey eyes. Right now, he looked almost friendly, but Lloyd could tell that his face could easily turn cold in a second.

The others were starting to leave, except for Soul Archer and Bansha, of course, so Lloyd followed them out. He should check on Morro 2. First, though, he wanted to say something to the other Lloyd.

"Lloyd?" He fell into step beside his double, who was at the back of the group due to his crutches.

"Mm-hmm?" The other blond acknowledged him.

"Can I talk to you privately for a minute?"

"Sure." The other him slowed down until the rest of the group was out of the hallway. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to say… I kinda get how you feel about my Morro now." Lloyd twisted his hands together. "Tori… in my world, she nearly killed me, and threatened to kill everyone I love. Being around this version of her makes me… uneasy." The other him was silent for a few moments.

"I guess you're right." He said at last. "But… you never started spewing hate about her, like I did with your Morro."

"I think I'm a more forgiving person than you. I had to be, to bring Morro to our side and get my father back."

"True." The other him shrugged. "Well, it's nice to know we understand each other a little better."

"Yeah." The pair started walking again. "I'm gonna go check on evil Morro."

"You do that." The two turned opposite directions at a fork in the hall, Lloyd 2 following the others while Lloyd headed towards the prison. Upon reaching it, the blond opened the door to see that, to his surprise, Morro was asleep, curled up in a corner of his cell. Smiling slightly, Lloyd stepped in and closed the door behind him. Unfortunately, the click of the door startled the ghost awake, who sat upright with a gasp.

"Have a nice nap?" Lloyd asked in a not-entirely-unfriendly voice, sitting down against the wall opposite his cell.

"Oh. It's you." The former king muttered, looking down at the ground. "I did, actually. How'd the mission go?"

"Kai 2 got murdered. He's a ghost now."

"'2'?"

"The one from this universe. And we freed all your prisoners." Morro scoffed.

"Not _my_ prisoners. Not anymore."

"We also found your right-hand-man."

"Right hand…?" The ghost looked confused. "I don't have a right hand man. Unless you count Reena, but she's a girl."

"Soul Archer." The blond folded his arms.

"Oh. Him."

"It was cruel of you to lock him up like that, trap him in a dark pit and let him starve."

"In my defense, the Preeminent told me to."

"She pulls all the strings, doesn't she?"

"Yes."

"Still. You've done so many cruel things, at least some of those had to be your own idea."

"Fine. Chopping off Lloyd's leg was my idea. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to do the same to his other leg – or either of yours." The ghost glared at him.

"What about making Morro blind? Was that her idea or yours?"

"Hers. Not that it matters, it's not like it's permanent." Lloyd froze.

"Wait- it's not?"

"You mean his sight hasn't started coming back yet?" The former king tilted his head. "Odd. It usually does by now."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"That's- that's amazing! Morro is gonna be so relieved!" The blond grinned, running a hand through this hair. "I have to go tell him!" Scrambling to his feet, Lloyd turned to leave, but stopped at a shout from Morro.

"Lloyd!" The green ninja turned around to see the ghost holding up the empty package of dried fish. "Can you… bring me more of this? I'm hungry." Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"You ate all that while I was gone?"

"You were gone for more than a day, and you didn't give me very much before that…" It almost looked like he was blushing. Ashamed to have to ask his greatest enemy for food?

"Sure." Lloyd smiled a bit. "And give me the package, I'll throw it away for you." The ghost pushed the plastic package through the bars, and the human boy picked it up before leaving the room. He didn't seem as bad as he had. Even his hostile comment about chopping off his legs seemed halfhearted and forced. That was a good sign. As he started down the hallway, Gin skidded around the corner and crashed into him, knocking them both to the ground as she let out a yelp.

"Whoa, careful…" Lloyd sat up, rubbing his had where it had knocked against the wall. "What's going on?"

"Charlie!" His sister exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"We had her locked up! Where did she go?" It took Lloyd a moment to realize what she meant, but as soon as he did, his eyes widened in shock. She was right. Charlie had been in the dungeon, but then when they went to lock Morro up there, she was gone.

"Oh crap, you're right." He stumbled to his feet. "Do the others know?"

"No, not yet."

"Go tell them. I have to go tell Morro something." The blond hurried off as Gin stumbled to her feet as well. Charlie's escape was bad, but they beat her once, they could beat her again. And nothing could get him down now. Not after the news that Morro was going to be able to see.

TheDarknessReturn

"I'm thinking of something that starts with… B."

"Is it big?"

"No, not really."

"Small?"

"Fairly small."

"Is it yellow?"

"Uh… it could be."

"Is it alive?"

"Nope."

"Is it… made of wood?"

"Ehh… sometimes?"

"Is it modern?"

"Nope."

"Is it a tool?"

"I guess."

"Is it made of metal?"

"Usually."

"Is it… a bolt?"

"Nope."

"A baster?"

"What's that?"

"Never mind. A bat?"

"Those are alive."

"I mean, like, a baseball bat."

"A what?"

"Never mind. I give up."

"It's a bucket."

"Ohhh." Morro and Indigo were avoiding the rest of the group, lying next to each other on his bed in his room. Morro had taken the permanent role of guesser in their game of 20 questions, since Indigo often didn't know what things were. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't very good at it. "Another win for you."

"Wanna play another round?"

"No, I'm not good at this." The ghost boy sighed, leaning back on his hands. "I didn't have a normal childhood.

"Well neither did I, so that's not excuse." He felt Indigo shifting beside him. "Do you think we can reform the other you?" Morro frowned. He hadn't been expecting that question.

"I dunno. I hope so. But… his winning reinforced his ego. So now he might be too far gone. On the other hand, Lloyd did say he was acting lost and desperate. So maybe. But there's no way to be sure."

"Yeah…"

"What do you think?"

"I think we can get through to him. We basically have eternity to do so."

"True." Morro sighed, opening his eyes. "I'd try to talk to him, but in my condition, I don't think it's…" he trailed off. "Wait a minute." For a moment, he almost thought that his vision… changed a bit. He blinked, then his eyes widened in shock. There was! Though faint, he could see light!

"What?" Indigo asked.

"I-I can see!" He exclaimed, sitting up straight. "Just a little bit, but I can see light!"

"Really?" He felt his girlfriend sit up as well. "Can you see me?" He turned, squinting in her direction.

"I see… I can see your glow! Not much else, though."

"But your eyes are healing! You'll be able to see again!"

"I know!" The wind master scrambled to his feet. "I've gotta go tell Lloyd!"

"Okay. I'll come too." He heard Indigo stand up as well as he headed towards the door, then stopped.

"Oh… I need to keep my eyes closed, or I'll start trying to rely on my sight again."

"Yeah, that's not a good idea just yet." His girlfriend took his hand in hers. "I'll make sure you don't hit anything."

"Thank you." He let Indigo lead him out of the room and down a hall, then she stopped at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Morro! Indigo!" Lloyd's voice, then the footsteps skidded to a stop. "I have great news!"

"I have better!" Morro countered. "Well, to me, anyway."

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

"I can see!" The ghost boy opened his eyes with a grin. Instead of reacting with surprise, like he had expected, Lloyd laughed.

"That's my news! I was talking to the other you and he said the blindness wasn't permanent!"

"Wait, he told you something?"

"In passing. He thought I already knew."

"Oh."

"But, wait- if you can see, why is Indigo leading you around? With your eyes closed?"

"I can only see a little." The ghost waved his hand in front of his face. "Basically just light. I can see Indigo 'cause she glows."

"That's handy. Come on, let's get to the meeting room."

"Something up?"

"We just realized that Charlie's been missing since we brought Morro 2 back." Oh crap, that's true.

"Alright, we're coming." Morro let himself be lead down the hall as Indigo followed Lloyd, a satisfied smile on his face. Things were looking up for the first time since he was blinded. They were at an advantage, with dozens of seasoned warriors on their side and the Preeminent's greatest weapon their prisoner. It should be easy to capture Bansha as well, and anyone else the Preeminent put in charge. This time, he was certain they had won.

* * *

 **~FFF**


	39. Chapter 39

**Sorry this is late guys, I came down with a case of laziness**

 **:^)**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Ninjachief: Wait, which thing- And you could be right, or you could be wrong...**

 **NinjagoMLP: Cursed fanfiction.**

 **Windy: He'll be able to see, anyway. "Okay" is... debatable. :)**

 **Ebony: Someone needs to talk some sense into him.**

 **Hey, wanna hear something cool? This chapter is exactly 2,000 words.**

* * *

"She must've had something else on her, a lockpick or something." Kai 2 mused. "And picked the lock when we left to attack Morro."

"I guess, but why didn't she do it before?" Zane 1 asked.

"Maybe she's not good at picking locks, and only managed to do it like the sixth time we were away?" Jay 2 suggested.

"Maybe." In Lloyd's opinion, there was no point in discussing Charlie further. She had escaped, there was nothing they could do about it. They should let the civilians know that she was free, and warn them to be on their guard. Otherwise, there was nothing to be done. Standing up, the blond left the room and headed to the kitchen. He hadn't gotten around yet to bringing Morro some food. The blond located another packaged of dried fish and headed towards the jail. He debated on bringing him two, since it wasn't like it would spoil, but decided against it. Bringing him food was a good excuse to visit him, anyway. Morro 2 looked up as he entered the jail, looking expectant – and, almost happy to see him?

"Here." Lloyd pushed the fish through the bars towards him, and the ghost caught it.

"Thank… you." The ghost said slowly, almost awkwardly.

"You're welcome." Lloyd turned around to leave, but Morro stopped him again.

"Lloyd, do you think you could… get me some paper and a pen and ink?" The ghost spoke up as he reached for the doorknob. "It's boring being here all day with nothing to do…"

"Sure." Lloyd nodded, turning towards him for a moment. "I'll find some and be back in a few minutes."

"Okay." Morro nodded, picking at the fish package. "Th- thanks."

"No problem." Lloyd left, smiling as he headed down the hall towards his room. Morro definitely seemed to be on the right path. He wasn't as grumpy as he used to be, and he seemed to be warming up to him a little bit. Maybe he did have a chance with him after all.

TheDarknessReturn

"Thank you." Morro accepted the pen, paper, and the small bottle of ink that Lloyd passed him through the bars, setting them down by his feet. The words still felt strange on his tongue. He was more accustomed to being thanked than doing the thanking himself.

"Don't spill the ink, okay? You'll get burned." Lloyd warned him, and Morro gave him a faint, fake smile and a nod before watching him leave. Pity that was exactly what he planned to do.

Taking the pen, Morro took the cork out of the bottle of ink and dipped the pen into it, holding it up and letting a drop of black liquid fall onto his wrist. It burned. Good. It would work. Reaching down to the powers, the ghost drew a line, then another, and another, and another. The Japanese symbol for king. That could be him. He could still get his kingdom back. He just had to prove how loyal he was.

He had tricked Lloyd into thinking he was becoming soft and meek, tricked him into giving him his means to escape. Now he could kill himself, and appear back in his own Realm. Free. The Preeminent would see how clever and loyal he was, willing to feel the pain of death in order to further her cause. She would let him come back. Rule. Bansha had failed, perhaps he would get another chance.

Setting the pen down, Morro picked up the inkwell – only to discover that his hand was shaking. No, stop that! He wasn't afraid! He was only determined, determined to escape at all costs. He was brave, and emotionless, and… he was scared.

But that wasn't enough to stop him.

Carefully, he shook the bottle back and forth, trying to judge how much ink was inside it. It was small, but it seemed mostly full. That should be enough, especially if it hit his head or heart. Closing his eyes and flinching, Morro threw the ink onto himself.

TheDarknessReturn

"We can't wait for Bansha to make her move." Kai 1 leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the table. "She's crafty. She'll set another trap for us. What we-"

"Feet off the table, Kai." Dad interrupted.

"Fine." The fire ninja replaced his feet on the floor. "We need to capture her, and the Realm Crystal and the Sword of Sanctuary, and hope that she gets replaced with someone like Ghoultar."

"No, the Preeminent won't make a mistake like that." Soul Archer spoke up from where he sat beside Bansha. "Her replacement will be a ghost, someone the Preeminent can control, but she won't choose someone stupid. Perhaps Yokai, or Cowler."

"Never heard of them. But, yeah, she-" Kai broke off abruptly at the sound of a scream, and Lloyd looked up in alarm. That sounded like Morro. But their Morro was here… why was evil Morro screaming?

"I'm gonna go… check that out." Lloyd stood, hurrying out of the room and heading towards the jail. Opening the door, the blond's eyes widened as he felt his breath catch in his throat. Morro was slumped on the floor of his cell, black, smoking burns all over him. The inkwell he had given him was overturned on the ground, black specks of ink on the wall behind him.

"Morro!" He exclaimed. "What did you _do?_ " His only reply was a weak groan. Grabbing the keys from a hook on the wall, Lloyd hurriedly unlocked the cell, stepping inside and kneeling beside the half-conscious ghost. "What were you trying to do?" The blond repeated, reaching down to touch his smoldering shoulder. When his finger touched him, the ghost hissed, flinching away, and Lloyd lifted his hand to see ink on the tip of his finger. It hadn't burned away? That's where the smoke was coming from – the ink was slowly burning away, instead of vanishing in a flash like water did.

Frowning, Lloyd took his other, dry hand, and brought it up through his arm, the ink coming off on his hand since it was solid. He could get it off. He had to, the ink might kill Morro if he left it, and even if he didn't, it would be cruel to let the ghost suffer. Standing up, he hurried back out of the cell, not bothering to lock it. He needed to get some supplies.

TheDarknessReturn

**** that hurt.

Morro clenched his fists, hissing under his breath as another wave of pain hit him. Stupid ink, stupid him. He had seen how the ink reacted when he let a drop fall on his arm, why didn't he put two and two together and not thrown the whole thing on himself? Now he was completely helpless. He couldn't even move.

He had heard Lloyd's voice a minute ago. He sounded upset. Angry? He had touched him a couple times, then left. What was he up to?

The ghost heard footsteps, and then Lloyd's voice again.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm gonna try to get the ink off, okay?" Wh- why? He felt the sensation of something passing through him, then the pain on his arm went down a bit. He took a shaky breath, letting his body relax a little bit. He felt it again, and the pain went down more. Lloyd repeated this process over and over, how, he wasn't sure, but slowly and steadily removing the ink that was slowly eating away at him.

Finally, it seemed to be all off, but his burns still hurt a lot. About half a minute passed of nothing, and he was starting to wonder if Lloyd had left, but then he felt a hand lift his arm and start wrapping it with some sort of cloth. It had to be something with deepstone, or else it would go through him. Whatever it was, it was cool, and the pressure made the burns hurt a bit less. Bandages?

Lloyd bandaged his arms and some of his head, he didn't try with the ones on his chest and stomach, probably because his shirt was in the way. He didn't attempt to bandage his face either, which he was glad about because he liked being able to see, talk, and breathe. Finally, the green ninja sat back, and asked,

"Can you talk?" The former king was silent for a few moments before saying,

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"A failed escape attempt." Lloyd sighed.

"I thought… I mean, why? What do you have to gain from going back to the Cursed Realm?"

"Bansha failed. I thought… if I went back, I might get another chance." The ghost muttered. "Now I don't have a chance to go back."

"The Preeminent doesn't need you anymore. You know that. You've served her purpose, now she's getting rid of you. Why do you even feel the need to try? Why do you want her to take you back? You know she's just using you."

"Because even if I am being used, at least I'm a king instead of a-" Morro snarled in pain as he tried to lift his head, letting it fall back to the ground. "…instead of a prisoner." He mumbled the last few words.

"You don't have to be a prisoner."

"And what, join you?"

"What's so terrible about that?"

"You hate me!"

"No I don't."

"Yes you do!" The ghost snapped. "You threatened to torture me to death! You took my entire life away from me! You hate me!"

"Morro, I don't hate you." Lloyd's voice was almost gentle. "I was angry about what you did to Madilyn. And yeah, your life involved tormenting us and imposing your will on the entire world. That's not a good thing. If I hated you, would I bandage you up and get the ink off you so it stopped hurting you?" Morro frowned.

"I… maybe."

"Really? You think I would go to all the trouble of trying to keep you from being hurt if I hated you? No one would judge me if I left you to suffer, would they? Not even you." The ghost curled into himself a bit.

"I don't- I don't know."

"I don't hate you. I want to be your friend." Morro opened his eyes in surprise.

"Are you serious? After all I've done?"

"Yes."

"No. You're lying." The ghost squeezed his eyes shut again. "You're trying to manipulate me into joining you."

"No I'm not."

"You are!"

"How do you know?"

"I just do! There's no way you can really like me after what I've done!"

"Morro, not everyone thinks like you do."

"I don't pretend they do! But no one is that forgiving! No one can trust their enemy that much!"

"But I can. Morro, there's a reason I'm the green ninja, and it's not just because I'm powerful. It's because I'm kind too."

"No! There's no way you-"

"Morro, you're in denial."

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are! Just think for a minute! Not everyone is so consumed with hate that they can't become friends with their enemy. Look at me and my Morro!" The former king frowned a bit.

"He didn't do all I've done."

"He possessed me and made me hurt my friends."

"Then you're manipulating him too."

"You think so? You've seen how much we care about each other."

"Well-"

"There's no point in my arguing with you if you're not going to listen." He heard Lloyd stand up. "Rest. Don't do anything stupid." Then he walked out of the cell, locked it, and left the room. Morro was silent for a few moments before lifting his head a bit, opening his eyes. Lloyd had cleaned up the rest of the ink and taken the pen and empty inkwell away. The papers were still there, stacked in a corner. Though… Lloyd had changed what it said. He had crossed out the symbol for king, and added his own.

"Friend".

* * *

 **Here's hoping I didn't make a typo and ruin the dramatic effect -ok emoji-**

 **~FFF**


	40. Chapter 40

**HELLO YES I AM ~ALIVE~**

 **...so... sorry I haven't been updating, I've been feeling... uninspired.**

 **but! I am back to writing after some kind of weird emo phase that lasted about 3 days**

 **I don't have time for review replies. But take this fluff.**

* * *

"So we'll take both Nyas." Kai 1 gestured to both water ninja, who were standing along the far wall. "The Lloyds and Gin can hold off any attacks while we're gone." He glanced around to make sure the others were following along, then continued. "We'll cross the desert tomorrow night, as quickly as we can, then rest until the next evening. Then we'll storm the city and take Bansha. But we'll have to be careful _not_ to kill her. If she dies, she'll just come back.

"Once she's captive, the Nyas will sweep the city like they did with Stiix, once we bring Bansha to a safe place. It will be harder since there's no ocean handy to draw water from, so all ghosts will stay behind so there's no risk of them getting killed. Any questions?" Kai glanced around for a moment before Mira spoke up.

"Will we bring Bansha back to Stiix or lock her up in Ninjago City?"

"Bring her back to Stiix once the city is secure. Ninjago city, despite its size and location, isn't as great a stronghold as Stiix, a city literally surrounded by a ghost's worst nightmare." The red ninja gestured at the ocean through the window. "Anyone else?" Silence. "Great. Lloyd 1, you can come if you want, but I feel like you might wanna stay and keep an eye on Morro 2."

"Yeah, I do." The blond boy nodded.

"Okay. Anyone else wanna talk about going slash staying behind?" Silence. "Okay, then it's settled. Now let's see about lunch. I'm hungry." The group dispersed, some hanging around and discussing their plans while others left to do other things. Lloyd was one of the ones who left, heading down to the prison to check on Morro 2. It was the day after the former king had tried to kill himself, and the last time he checked the ghost wasn't improving at all. He wasn't in terrible pain anymore, at least.

Lloyd opened the door to the jail, and peeked in to see that Morro was asleep, curled up on the floor of his cell. Heh. Quietly, the blond slipped through the door and closed it behind him. The ghost didn't wake. Taking the keys from their hook on the wall, Lloyd unlocked his cell and stepped inside, kneeling next to him and touching his bandaged arm. Instantly, Morro's eyes flew open, and he let out a snarl as he jerked upright. As Lloyd jumped back in surprise, however, the former king crumpled back to the ground with a pain-filled groan.

"Stupid… reflexes…" he choked out through clenched teeth. "What… are you doing here?"

"I came to check on your burns. Sorry I startled you." The blond lifted his arm again, gently pressing on the bandages but stopping when Morro let out a hiss of pain.

"What do… you mean, 'check'?"

"See if they're infected. I don't know if that can happen to a ghost, but it would be really bad if it did."

"I… deserve it… probably…" Lloyd looked up at him with a frown. Was he… admitting to wrongdoing? That was out of character. Lloyd waited for him to go on, but the wind master just closed his eyes with a quiet sigh. Whatever, it was probably best not to bother him about it.

"Does it hurt more or less than yesterday?"

"A little… more, I think…"

"Oh." The blond frowned. That couldn't be good. "I can ask Andreea to try to heal you."

"She… she won't. Even if y-you don't hate me, she… does." Something was definitely going on with him.

"Still, I can try."

"No good."

"If I could get her to, would you let her?" Silence.

"…yeah."

"Then I'll try. In the meantime, I'll change these bandages." Standing up, Lloyd left in search of medical supplies, leaving Morro's cell unlocked – he doubted the ghost could get far in his current state, and the small gesture of trust might help their relationship. It was a couple minutes before he located the medical supplies, and when he came back, Morro hadn't moved an inch, lying quietly on the floor with his eyes half open. For a while, neither of them spoke as Lloyd replaced the ghost's bandages. The old ones looked fairly clean, but he wasn't taking any chances. As the blond started on his head, Morro spoke up quietly.

"Last night… the Preeminent spoke to me." Lloyd stopped.

"What did she say?"  
"She said… she said she saw me try to escape. Called me a fool for thinking I could get another chance." So he was right. The Preeminent wouldn't take Morro back. "She… said I would never amount to anything ever again." Morro's voice was raw. "She said I would stay here, f-forever, rotting in a prison cell w-with no one else in the world, with everyone h-hating me…" The ghost's voice broke, and he curled up a little bit more, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Morro…" Lloyd rested a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't respond. "Morro?"

TheDarknessReturn

No, no, no, no, no no no no no no. He couldn't cry. Couldn't show weakness. _Definitely_ not in front of Lloyd. Why had he thought it was a good idea to talk about the Preeminent? He was a stupid, worthless idiot.

"Morro?" Lloyd said a third time, his hand tightening a bit on his shoulder. He had to make him leave. He had to scare him off before he saw him cry.

"W-what?" He spat with as much venom as he could muster. It still came out sounding pathetic.

"I don't hate you." Carefully, the blond reached down and wrapped his arms around him from behind, lifting him up and resting his chin on his shoulder as he pulled him back against his chest.

"W-what are you d-doing?" the ghost stammered, feeling a lump rise in his throat. "S-stop it! You h-hate me!"

"No I don't."

"Yes you d-do!" Morro couldn't hold back a sob. "Y-you h-have to… e-everyone does…"

"The Preeminent lied to you. I know you've done bad things, but that doesn't mean you can't change. And it doesn't mean you can't be forgiven." Lloyd hugged him tighter. "It's okay." The ghost covered his face with one hand as he started to sob. He couldn't even control his emotions. "It's okay to cry." Lloyd murmured.

"No it's n-not…" Morro pressed his hand over his eye, staring at the ground with the other as he shook with sobs. "Crying is... a-a s-sign of w-weakness. I'm s-supposed to be s-strong…"

"Crying's not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of being in touch with your emotions. Which is a good thing."

"B-but-"

"Shh. Don't talk. Just let yourself cry."

"But-!"

"I said shh." Morro gave up, lifting his other hand up to his face and sobbing into his hands. Lloyd didn't let go of him, rubbing his unhurt shoulder a bit. Neither of them spoke as the ghost cried, shaking in the green ninja's arms. When he finally stopped, his body didn't stop shaking from both leftover misery and pain, but he did feel better. And Lloyd's hug wasn't… completely unwelcome. "Feel better?" The blond asked, his chin still on his shoulder.

"A… little, I guess." Morro mumbled.

"Good. Do you want me to leave?" He started to say 'yes', but… he didn't really want to be alone.

"…no."

"Okay." Lloyd rested his forehead against his shoulder. He was so… calm. How could he just sit here with him and comfort him, his greatest enemy? It didn't make sense. There's no way he could fake this. He just couldn't. Lloyd was a terrible liar anyway. They sat there in silence for a while before Morro worked up the courage to say,

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Lloyd replied without missing a beat. "Are you still in a lot of pain?"

"Kinda…"

"Okay. I'm gonna go talk to Andreea." Letting go of him, the blond lowered him back to the ground before standing up and leaving, locking the cell behind him and leaving the room. Morro rolled over on his back, staring up at the ceiling. That was… surreal. Just… being so close to Lloyd, and not… hating it. Or being hated. They had shared a body before, which was pretty close, but there was always contempt directed towards each other. Always.

Even when they were apart, even when Lloyd was _asleep_ , Morro could still feel hate radiating from him. Now… he was so calm around him? Even when he snapped at him and insulted him he didn't get mad, maybe a little sad, but never angry. Probably because he was so close with his Morro. But why? Hadn't the other him possessed him and hurt him too?

There were too many questions, ones he didn't have answers to, and he hurt too much to ask them. So he would wait. Closing his eyes, Morro blocked the pain out and let himself drift off to sleep.

* * *

 **~The next day~**

 **Lloyd: we had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms!**

 **Morro 2: nope. don't remember that. didn't happen.**

 **In other news I've kinda had this self-insert fic in my head where I show up in ninjago around the beginning of season 5 and think "holy crap I can break the universe" and completely mess everything up**

 **would anyone be interested in reading that**

 **~FFF**

 **P.S. I again have not proofread this so please excuse any typos or errors**


	41. Chapter 41

**did you know that 75% of the tumblr ninjago fandom are morons**

 **Review replies:**

 **Kat: Fluff... everywhere...**

 **EntityEndDragon: Heck same. Which is why I write so much ;D**

 **Zena: ok!**

 **Impossiblegirl: It would xD**

 **Nicktastic: Because I can :D**

 **Windy: Psshhh, I'd say it ties with a couple of the oneshots. Like I'm Here. That one is good.**

 **Guest: That's the idea *maniacal laugh***

 **Jayden: VOL TR ON**

 **NinjagoMLP: Yayyy!**

* * *

"No."

"Oh, come on, Andreea." Lloyd lifted his hands in a pleading gesture as the pink ninja crossed her arms and turned away. "You healed me."

"That has nothing to do with this. Morro is our greatest enemy." Andreea huffed. "After all he's done to me, I'd rather just let him suffer."

"But he's changing! Healing him will help him trust us!"

"I don't care if he trusts us! And he's just manipulating you, he's not changing in the least!"

"Andreea, he broke down in tears in front of me." The blond folded his arms, smirking a bit as the brunette turned around to stare at him in shock. "You really think that's just him 'manipulating me'?"

"I wouldn't put it past him, but…" The pink ninja frowned. "I would think he's too proud to sink to tricks of that level."

"You weren't there. It wasn't a trick. He was distraught. And he let me hug him."

"You _hugged_ him?"

"Yeah. That's when he started crying. He kept insisting that I hated him, even when I told him I didn't. Then I hugged him and he broke down. He told me the Preeminent told him he was worthless and foolish to think he could ever amount to anything ever again. I guess she struck a chord, since… that was all he ever wanted. To be somebody." The blond shrugged.

"He could still be faking that." Andreea averted her eyes again. "He's crafty. He could be up to anything."

"You know I had to go through this with my Morro, right?" The pink ninja met his eyes again, but didn't change her grumpy posture.

"No, I don't think I've heard the story."

"I found him in an alley." Lloyd took a step back to lean against the wall – it was a bit of a long story. "He was hungry, scared, and alone. Almost as scared of me as I was of him."

"So he did possess you."

"Yeah, this was a few months after that. I started bringing him food, and got him to tell me how he survived – in the hopes of finding my dad. But I started to care about him too. Eventually, I invited him into the monastery, and everyone freaked out. They insisted he couldn't be trusted. I let him move in anyway. And you know what? He didn't betray us. He was shy and nervous at first, but eventually he told me where my father was and helped me find him. He became my friend. And I believe this Morro can become my friend too." Andreea stared at the floor for a few moments, arms still crossed in front of her, then she sighed and let them fall to her sides.

"Oh, fine. I'll heal him. But only for your sake, I still hate him."

"Thank you." Lloyd's face broke into a grin, and she rolled her eyes before following him down to the jail. When they entered, Lloyd was mildly surprised to see that Morro had fallen asleep again. "Morro." He called softly as he closed the door behind them. "Wake up." The ghost shifted then opened his eyes, tilting his head to face them and frowning when he spotted Andreea.

"You… got her to come?" His voice was both confused and impressed.

"Not for your sake." The pink ninja said coldly. "I'm only doing this because Lloyd asked me to. Just stay still and we can get this over with." Andreea grabbed the keys from their hook, unlocked his cell, and sat down beside him. The ghost lay silently on the floor, staring up at the ceiling and not making a sound. Trying not to provoke her.

"The burns are all the way down his arms and on his shoulders, and on his chest and face and head." Lloyd stepped in and knelt next to her, pointing out Morro's burns with one hand.

"Alright." Andreea rested her hand on the ghost's arm, then closed her eyes as her hand glowed white. Morro visibly relaxed, his eyes closing as his shoulders slumped a bit. "This arm and shoulder should be completely healed." She reported before touching the burns on his face and healing them as well. They left a faint scar, but didn't appear to bother Morro anymore. She healed the burns on the top of his head and neck, then the ones on his chest before moving to his other side to heal his other arm. Once she finished, she stood up without a word and left. She seemed… maybe a little less hostile?

"Do you feel better?" Lloyd asked as Andreea closed the door.

"Y-yeah, a lot better…" The ghost nodded, opening his eyes. "Pretty tired, though."

"Here, let me take those off." The blond started to unwrap the bandages from his arm, and Morro watched as he removed the bandages and tossed them in a corner. "Do you want me to leave so you can sleep?"

"No, I… I'd rather you stay for a little while." The ghost didn't meet his eyes, pushing himself up into a sitting position and hugging his knees to his chest.

"Okay." Lloyd locked the cell door, the tossed the keys out through the bars and sat down next to him. Morro gave him a suspicious look.

"You locked yourself in with me."

"Yeah."

"What if I started attacking you? You wouldn't be able to escape."

"If you did, I would beat you. And I'd be very disappointed in you."

"Oh." The former king scooted back against the wall. "I don't… I don't wanna hurt you. The Preeminent hurt me, but… you didn't. Or, at least, you haven't yet."

"The only reason I would hurt you is if you attacked me." Lloyd put a hand on his shoulder. "So I don't think you have to worry about it."

"O-okay." He couldn't be sure, but he thought Morro leaned into his touch a little bit. "No… no one knows you're here." The ghost said slowly. "They might get worried. Or think I trapped you in here and tried to hurt you."

"I'll tell them why I'm here. Don't worry." Lloyd smiled a bit. Morro seemed like he was starting to like him, even rely on him a little bit. "Do you mind if I hug you?"

"Uh, n-no…" He stuttered, looking a bit taken aback.

"Okay." Lloyd leaned over and wrapped his arms around his neck, resting his head on his shoulder. The ghost stiffened at first, but then relaxed, tentatively wrapping one arm around him. He had definitely accepted him. Smiling, Lloyd closed his eyes, pillowing his head on Morro's shoulder and letting himself drift off. He didn't care what Morro had done. He had changed. He trusted him.

TheDarknessReturn

"So…" Lloyd awoke to an annoyed voice. A very annoyed voice. "Explanation?" Blinking his eyes open, the blond boy lifted his head from Morro's shoulder to see Indigo standing in front of the cell, her arms crossed over her chest and staring down at them with disgust.

"What's _that_ look for?" Lloyd glared back at her.

"You're cuddling." She said flatly. "With the guy. That tried to rape me."

"Well that's a bit harsh. But yeah, I guess I am." He had forgotten about that. She had told him about it, but it had kinda slipped his mind.

"It's not 'harsh', it's _true_." Indigo whirled around and started to leave.

"Indigo, wait! Come back!" Lloyd let go of Morro, who was still asleep, and scrambled to his feet. "At least let me out."

"Did you lock yourself in? That's intelligent." Indigo kicked the keys towards him, then stomped out and slammed the door. Quickly, Lloyd let himself out, then locked up the cell and hung the keys on the wall before hurrying after her.

"Indigo, wait." He caught up to her and tried to grab her shoulder, but his hand went through her. "Come on, you of all people should know that Morro can change. You're _dating_ him, for crying out loud."

" _My_ Morro never tried to _rape_ me." She snapped.

"If you had met him while he was still evil, he probably would have!" Lloyd countered.

"Morro would _never_ -!"

"Indigo, your Morro used to be just like this one: proud, hateful, and heartless." Lloyd cut her off. "When he lost, he gave up. He let himself be upset, let himself feel – things he thought signified weakness. He let me befriend him. But he used to be a horrible, horrible person, just like this Morro was."

"'Was', hmm?" The ghost girl didn't look impressed.

"Yes, was. He's changed. I know he has."

"And how can you know that?"

"Because I've seen it before!" The blond huffed. "Look… I get it. He threatened to do horrible things to you, and he would have done so with no remorse if you hadn't overpowered him. You don't have to forgive him. But at least… at least try to understand? And don't discourage him, he's… he's trying his best." Indigo glared at the ground for a few moments, then let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh, fine. For now. If he makes _one_ wrong move, I'm going to- well, not kill him, but seriously injure him. Got it?" With that, she spun around and stalked off. Sighing, the green ninja turned to go back to Morro's cell. If Morro was ever going to join their side, one thing was for sure: he was going to have to say a _lot_ of apologies.

* * *

 **lloyd: hmm how can I make indigo like the evil morro**

 **lloyd: I know ill tell her that her boyfriend used to be a heartless rapist**

 **lloyd: that should work**

 **also in that self insert fic I mentioned I would say "man this sure seems a lot like a fic I would write" roughly 49 times**

 **~FFF**


	42. Chapter 42

**Oh look two posts in one day**

 **Review Replies:**

 **EntityEndDragon: *dabs***

 **Jayden: I will at some point. But currently I'm trying to update 3 different stories (This, Haunted, and I'm Not Sick) on a fairly regular basis, so I won't start it just yet.**

 **PastelninjaMonile: Lloyd is super trusting. Which is probably going to eventually get him in trouble.**

 **Chantelle: I'm good at that ;)**

 **Ebony: He needs to take a logic class. Like tumblr.**

 **Nicktastic: Tori and Lloyd 2 have been hiding in a closet hanging out for like 3 chapters now**

 **Samantha: Oh Samantha, Samantha, Samantha... it's always been weird.**

 **Windy: Indigo needs to chill.**

* * *

 _Slam_. Morro was startled half to death by his room door being opened, flung against the wall, then slammed shut. Turning around with wide eyes, the ghost boy watched with blurry vision as Indigo stomped through the room and threw herself face-first onto Lloyd's bed with a loud groan.

"Uh… Indigo?" He spoke up after a few moments. "You okay?"

"Lloyd." She said flatly, her voice muffled by the mattress.

"Um… what about him? And which one?"

"Our Lloyd. Guess where I found him."

"…where?"

"In the jail. In evil Morro's cell. Cuddling with him."

"What?" Morro frowned. "That… honestly doesn't surprise me too much. It's in his nature to be forgiving, it's just… I'm surprised the other me let him do it."

"But he knows what a slimeball he is! He knows what he tried to do to me!"

"Wait, what do you mean?" The wind master narrowed his eyes a bit. "'Tried'?" Indigo was silent for a few moments.

"Oh, I guess I never got around to telling you."

"Telling me what?"

"The other you tried to rape me."

"WHAT?!" Morro sat bolt upright, staring at her in shock and horror. "Wh- why? And when?"

"Right before I broke out and came to find you and Bansha." His girlfriend replied, her voice monotone. He kept making threats, offhanded comments about having some fun with me, or me joining him in bed. When he actually tried to do it, we didn't make it ten feet towards his bedrrom before I drained his energy and ran. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you while you were recovering, but I did tell Lloyd. And he doesn't care." Morro stared at her blurry form silently for a few moments before stiffly getting to his feet.

"I'll be back in a little while."

"Where are you going?"

"To teach my counterpart a lesson." Indigo gave an approving nod, then walked him stalk out of the room. Lloyd had better not be there. If he was, he would have to lie to distract him, or forcefully get him out of the way. Fortunately, he noted as he entered the jail, he wasn't. The other him was alone, tracing patterns on the floor with his finger and looking up with a slight frown as he entered.

"What do you want?" He asked – not a in a hostile tone, just a confused one.

"My girlfriend told me about what you tried to do to her." Morro replied coldly.

"Tried to do to…" His double trailed off, and the first didn't need good vision to see the expression on his face. Fear. "O-oh…"

"I'm here…" Morro grabbed the keys and stepped forward to stand in front of his door. "…to settle a score."

"N-no, please." The other him stammered, standing up and backing against the far wall of his cell. "I'm sorry, I was wrong to hurt her, but I've… I've changed, please."

"'Sorry' doesn't cut it." The wind master snapped, fumbling to unlock his door. "You locked me up and beat me, broke every bone in my fingers, then tried to rape my girlfriend. You tried to kill Lloyd's father, then possessed him and beat Lloyd mercilessly in his body. Then you blinded me, and then hurt an innocent child to try to capture Lloyd. And you think you can just say 'sorry' and think we'll leave you alone? No. You deserve pain. You deserve to get back what you've done to everyone you've ever hurt. And more." The other him shook his head as he pulled the door open, his breaths coming short and fast as he stepped closer.

"L-Lloyd!" He yelled. "H-help!"

"Don't you dare call to him for help!" Morro punched him in the stomach, then slammed his head against the wall as his knees buckled, smirking at the sickening _crack_ as his head hit the wall. As his double collapsed with a groan, he stomped on his hand, and former king let out a pained cry. Morro kicked him in the side as he curled into a ball, the injured ghost cradling his hand to his chest as he whimpered in pain.

" _MORRO!_ " The scream from behind him made him pause, and the ghost boy turned around to see Lloyd staring at him in shock from the doorway. "What are you _doing?!_ Stop!"

"He deserves it." Morro hissed, giving his double another kick to the side. The weak cry of pain it elicited from the former king only served to upset Lloyd further.

"Stop it NOW! We're the good guys! We don't hurt people like that, no matter what they've done!"

"I'm not like you, Lloyd. I don't have infinite patience." Morro started to pull the cell door shut – if it was locked, Lloyd couldn't stop him – but the blond dashed forward and yanked it open. "Lloyd," he said in a warning tone. "Don't try to stop me."

"No! I'm not going to leave and let you hurt him!"

"L-Lloyd…" His double choked out. "…m-make him s-stop…"

"How dare you ask him for help?!" Morro snarled, aiming a kick at his head. Before he could execute it, though, his feet were kicked out from underneath him, and he landed on his back with a grunt. When he looked up again, Lloyd knelt on the floor in front of his double, arms out to block him from reaching him.

"If you want him, you'll have to go through me." He said stubbornly. Morro slowly got to his feet, staring down at him in silence.

"I thought you were my friend." he said at last.

"I _am_ your friend! But that doesn't mean I'll just stand by and let you beat him!"

"How can you even defend him? He hurt you! He hurt me! He hurt your father! He hurt everyone!" Morro hissed. "He hurt Indigo!" Lloyd frowned.

"So, that's what this is all about?"

 _"Everything_ is what this is about." The wind master snapped. "He deserves this. He threatened to do horrible things to you, and _did_ do horrible things to the other you. You think he's changed? You didn't see him gloating after he beat me to a pulp, threatening to do the same to Indigo if I didn't give up the location of our base. You didn't see him use an image of you, created by some henchman, threatening to kill you if I didn't surrender.

"He is crafty. He knows how to hit you where it hurts, how to manipulate you. And he will do _anything._ He will beg and plead for mercy, then stab you in the back when your guard is down. Cry and pretend to be sorry, then slaughter us all when we turn our backs. Want to know how I know? Because when I was evil, I lived the exact. Same. Way. Now get away from him and let me have my revenge."

"So when I saw you in an alley, I should've just left and never come back?" Lloyd countered, his eyes narrowed into slits. "The other ninja told me the exact same thing you just told me. That you could never be trusted, and that, given the opportunity, you would stab me in the back. And they had reason to think so. You possessed me, tortured me, and threatened to kill me. Why should I give you the benefit of the doubt? You didn't even apologize, or admit you were wrong. The most I ever got was an occasional mumbled 'thanks'."

"At least that was in character. It makes no sense for _him_ to have a sudden change in heart." Morro crossed his arms.

"He didn't! He was angry at first, hurling insults and hate at me. He was sad, upset that the Preeminent had replaced him. Then when he tried to kill himself, the Preeminent told him he was foolish and worthless. Crumbling the last bit of resolve he had left."

"And how do you know he wasn't lying about that, hmm?"

"I've seen you cry enough times to know real tears when I see them." The blond rolled his eyes. "And he hugged me readily enough. That wasn't faked either. Look, I don't care if you like him or trust him. Just don't hurt him. Don't stoop to his level. If you start beating people because you think they've done the wrong thing, are you any better than he is?"

"'Think'? He-"

"That's not my point! My point is, he thought you and I were in the wrong. We wronged him, so he used that to justify hurting us. If you do the same thing, you're not better than he was!"

"But-"

"No. Just stop talking." Lloyd cut him off. "Go read a book. Go for a walk. Violently destroy some training dummies. I don't care what you do, just get. Out." Morro stared at the two in silence for a moment before stepping out and slamming the cell door shut.

"Fine." He locked the door with them both still inside, then stalked out. "But don't come crying to me when he betrays you." With that, he slammed the door shut and stomped off down the hall. Lloyd was a fool. He was naïve and gullible, falling prey to the simplest of his double's tricks. If he didn't get some common sense soon, he was going to get hurt.

Maybe it would teach him a lesson.

* * *

 **I'm pretty sure the entire cast of these stories needs therapy.**

 **Morro TAKE A CHILL PILL GEEZ**

 **~FFF**


	43. Chapter 43

**hey guys guess what started**

 **that's right it's ~school~**

 **But that's not why this is late I was just being lazy (unmotivated? distracted by agents of donut? no one knows)**

 **Review replies:**

 **EntityEndDragon: dang, yeah, they totally need hugs.**

 **Pastelninjamonile: Even the best of friends fight sometimes.**

 **NinjagoMLP77: He will. Not necessarily because of Morro 2, but he will.**

 **TheSincereViolinist: They both have their reasons for being mad. One of them is just wrong.**

 **Nicktastic: If they're outside the closet, they have to deal with the judgemental glares from the #1 ninja.**

 **Ebony: Any day now.**

 **MLGbilcipher: I mean... both actually ended up happening xD**

 **Windy: Band-aids don't fix bullet holes - you say sorry just for show - you live like that you live with ghosts**

 **Samantha: That... might... possibly... be accurate...**

* * *

Indigo opened one eye at the sound of approaching footsteps, then lifted her head a bit as Morro entered the room, eyes narrowed a bit and fists clenched to his sides.

"How did it go?" She asked as he sat down on his bed.

"Pretty well. I roughed him up quite a bit before Lloyd showed up and made me stop."

"Good." She nodded approvingly. "Lloyd shares this room with you, doesn't he? Is he gonna come and kick me out?"

"That would be hard. I locked him up with the other me." Indigo let out a snort of laughter.

"As funny as that is… do you think evil Morro will hurt him?"

"No. You should have seen him, curled up on the ground and crying out for Lloyd to help him. He won't drop the charade just yet." Morro shook his head. "Lloyd will be fine until someone finds him."

"Okay…" Morro was really sure that the other him hadn't, and wouldn't change. Indigo… wasn't so sure. Lloyd was right that if her Morro had changed, maybe his double could too. But not in that short a time. That was highly suspicious. "If Lloyd's in jail, can I spend the night here with you?" Morro chuckled.

"That's a bit inappropriate."

"We've done it before."

"Fair enough. And if Lloyd does show up, you can just sleep in my bed."

"What about if he doesn't?"

"…then you can still sleep with me if you want."

"Yay." Indigo hopped off Lloyd's bed and hurried across the room to sit next to her boyfriend. "So… do we just avoid them for the next couple of days?"

"I guess. Unless I can catch the other me alone, and beat him some more."

"I think Lloyd will lock you up if you attack him again. And hopefully he's learned his lesson."

"Fair enough." Morro wrapped his arms around her and leaned back, lying down on the pillow with her on top of him. The void mistress rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes.

"Goodnight, Morro."

"Goodnight, Indigo."

TheDarknessReturn

"You'll be okay." Lloyd assured Morro, helping him sit up against the wall of his cell. "Do you think anything's broken?"

"M-maybe… maybe my fingers…" The former king ground out through clenched teeth. "Nothing else…"

"Let me see your hand." The blond held out his hand, and Morro 2 slowly, painfully lifted his left hand up for him to look at. Lloyd took it, frowning at his bruised and swollen fingers. "What did he do?"

"Stomped on me…"

"Oh." What in Ninjago had possessed Morro to do something so horrible? He was usually kind, and at least tolerant of his enemies. And he listened to him. Now… "They should be wrapped." He said at last. "I'd get some bandages, but… I'm locked in."

"Oh… well." Morro pulled his hand away, setting it on the ground next to him. "Sit with me?" He asked quietly. Lloyd nodded, scooting closer and leaning against the wall on his right.

"Where else are you hurt?"

"He… kicked me in the side twice, and punched me in the stomach, and slammed my head against the wall… my head _really_ hurts." Lloyd frowned.

"Lean forward a bit and let me see." The ghost obeyed, leaning forward and tilting his head so the blond could see. The green ninja gently brushed his hair and running a finger down the back of his head, but pulled away when Morro let out a hiss of pain.

"No, keep going, just hurry." The ghost ordered, his voice strained. Lloyd obeyed, parting his hair and running a finger down the back of his head. Morro let out a choked cry, his uninjured hand clenching into a fist as he started to shake. The blond barely noticed his reaction, though, his focus occupied by what he had found.

"Morro, I think… I think he cracked your skull." He whispered, pulling his hands away. "I know he was angry, but… did he mean to do that?"

"I don't know…" Morro squeezed his eyes shut. "Uuuuugh, everything hurts…" Lloyd frowned.

"It will be hard for you to get comfortable in this cell… you need a pillow at least. If you just rest for long enough, it should heal, but it will be a long time."

"I know…" he winced when he spoke. "Do you think… Andreea will heal me? My head at least?"

"I hope so. But… wait, she just left with the others." Lloyd shook his head. "You'll have to wait a few days, but it's better than months."

"Y-yeah, but… those few days will really hurt." The ghost whispered.

"I know, I'm sorry, but… I don't think there's very much else I can do." Morro let out a quiet sigh.

"Okay. Wish I had… a pillow, at least."

"I'll get one for you once someone lets me out. In the meantime… you could use me for a pillow, if you want." The blond suggested.

"I… you mean lean my head on your shoulder?"

"No, my shoulder's not soft. I mean on my lap."

"Oh. Yeah, if you help me lie down."

"I can do that." Carefully, Lloyd lowered Morro down so his head rested on his legs, the ghost flinching a bit when his head touched him but relaxing a moment later.

"That's better."

"Good. Just rest until I can get out of here." Morro hummed his acknowledgement, then fell silent. The two waited there in silence for a long time, and Lloyd had almost fallen asleep when the door opened, admitting Tori into the room.

"Hey." She greeted him casually, not seeming bothered by the sight of Morro lying in his lap. "Did you lock yourself in again?"

"No, my Morro locked me in."

"Which would be… which one?" The blond girl tilted her head.

"Not this one. The one from my world."

"Oh. Why? I thought you were buddies."

"He… yeah, but he really hates this Morro." Lloyd put a hand on the sleeping ghost's shoulder. "He came and started beating him, managed to break his fingers and crack his skull before I made him stop. But then he locked us both in here."

"Oh." Tori's eyes widened a bit. "Should we do something?"

"Well… if you could find a few pillows, that would make him more comfortable, but we really can't do anything until Andreea's back."

"Oh. Okay. I'll get some pillows, then be right back." The mistress of darkness turned and left, not bothering to close the door. While he waited, Lloyd ran his hand over Morro's hair, just barely grazing his head for fear of hurting him. Even though Morro was angry… he was never this violent before. What Indigo had told him must have really riled him up. Tori returned with a stack of pillows, and unlocked the cell door to give them to him. Morro awoke at the sound of the door opening, and whimpered a bit from the pain in his head as she set the pillows next to him.

"Hey." Lloyd said softly. "How's your head?"

"Still… still hurts. A lot." Oh well. Lloyd hadn't expected it to heal much in the half-hour he had been asleep.

"I got some pillows. Well, Tori got them. But they're here now, do you want to use those instead? I have to go talk some sense into my Morro."

"Yeah…" Morro nodded a bit, then flinched. "Ugh, I… really can't move."

"Yeah, be careful." Lloyd carefully helped him shift over to rest his head on a squishy pillow set on top of a firmer one. Morro relaxed more as his head sunk into the pillow, closing his eyes again with a quiet sigh. "I'm gonna go now, okay?"

"Mm'kay." Lloyd stood up and followed Tori out of the cell, watching her lock it up before taking the keys and stuffing them in his pocket. Now, even if he wasn't there, there was no way Morro 1 could hurt him again.

* * *

 **indigo: hey morro**

 **morro: hey indigo**

 **indigo: what's up**

 **morro: I just nearly beat a guy to death**

 **indigo: mmhmm ok cool let's cuddle**

 **~FFF**


	44. Chapter Forty FOUR-

**Has anyone seen my motivation**

 **also I would've had this out last night if it weren't for ~my dad~  
**

 **Review replies:**

 **NinjagoMLP: Which ones?**

 **EntityEndDragon: They need hugs so much. And thanks for the cookies! :D LOL no, neither one would be okay with that. Well, maybe Morro #1 would be okay. Not happy, but okay with it.**

 **PastelninjaMonile: Tbh I always have that conversation with my family... "why do you like Morro" "idk mom he's just a smol" "he kills people" "so what"**

 **Nicktastic: Tori is chill. And those two... smh.**

 **Ebony: He's proooooobably trustworthy. And yeah. Kai 2's probably hanging out with either Lloyd 2 or Cole 2. Or his Nya.**

 **Samantha: Try screaming incoherently at the characters in an attempt to give them some intelligence.**

 **Windy: Everyone needs to chill. Bad Blood is my jam yo**

* * *

"Ahem." Morro awoke to a pair of knuckles rapping on his forehead. Annoyed, he swatted the hand away, lifting his head to see Lloyd standing next to his bed with his arms folded.

"What do you want?" He muttered, lowering his head again.

"Did you mean to crack Morro's skull?" The blond asked bluntly. Morro blinked.

"Did I mean to what?"

"Crack Morro's skull." Lloyd repeated, sounding annoyed.

"Uh… no? No, I didn't think that would happen."

"Do you regret it?" Morro thought about that for a minute.

"No, not really."

"Seriously?" Lloyd threw his hands up in the air. "He's in serious pain, he can barely move with how much his head hurts. And we can't numb him or drug him, he's a ghost. So he's stuck with blinding pain until Andreea gets back."

"He deserves it. I spent a week in his dungeon getting beaten worse every day at his hands."

"And that's another thing, you broke his fingers when you stepped on his hand." The blond crossed his arms over his chest again. "And stop acting like a bad guy. We're good guys, we don't do revenge."

"Yeah? I do."

"Well you need to stop!" Lloyd snapped, raising his voice unexpectedly. "Can't you see what you're doing? You're not better than him, doing things like that! How can I call you my friend if you're beating people who can't fight back?!"

"Well you don't really need me for a friend, do you?!" Morro shot back. "Not when you have _him!_ "

"What? That's silly! That's like saying because I have Kai I don't need Jay!"

"But we're the same person! And Kai and Jay play different roles as your friends, you're replacing me with my double!" Lloyd stared blankly at him, arms falling to his sides.

"Are you… jealous?"

"What? No." Morro quickly denied it.

"You are jealous!" The blond exclaimed. "You think I've replaced you!"

"Well you have! And I'm not jealous!"

"No I haven't, and you are!" Morro groaned.

"Fine! I am jealous! You're ignoring me in favor of him and I'm afraid he's going to hurt you! You're allowing yourself to be vulnerable around him, and it's going to come back and bite you! He can't be trusted, and I don't know why you can't see that!" Lloyd just stared at him for a few moments.

"Morro, I'm sorry." He said softly. "I didn't need to ignore you. I was just… trying to gain the other you're trust. I forgot you need my attention too."

"I don't _need_ your attention." Morro muttered, a bit embarrassed. "But I did miss it."

"Th-that means… what you did to him was _my_ fault." Lloyd continued as if he hadn't heard him, his eyes wide as they filled with tears.

"Wait, Lloyd-" Morro sat up, setting Indigo – who had somehow slept through all that – to the side as Lloyd started to cry, covering his face with his hands. "It's not your fault. It's not your fault I was so angry."

"B-but if I h-hadn't ignored you, you w-wouldn't be mad…"

"I was mad because of what Indigo told me, not because of you."

"B-but I helped…"

"Lloyd…" Morro sighed, then swung his legs over the side of the bed and held his arms out: an invitation for a hug. Lloyd peeked up at him, then accepted, stepping closer and throwing his arms around his neck, burying his face in his shoulder. Morro rubbed his back, trying to calm him down. Lloyd being angry at him, he could deal with, but crying? No, he had to do something about that. The ghost hugged him until he stopped crying, rocking him back and forth a bit. "It's not your fault." He said again. Lloyd sniffled.

"O-okay…"

"You look exhausted. You should get some sleep." The ghost boy ordered gently. Lloyd raised his head a bit to peek up at him distrustfully.

"Promise not to attack the other you?" He whispered, muffled by his shoulder. Morro sighed, but nodded.

"Fine."

" _Promise._ "

"I promise."

"Good." Lloyd closed his eyes, tightening his arms around his brother's neck and resting his head on his shoulder. Morro rocked him back and forth until he drifted off, head slumped on his shoulder. He would have to honor his promise, he couldn't betray Lloyd's trust. Sighing quietly, the ghost lay back on the pillow again, this time with Lloyd in his arms. Indigo was probably right, the other him will have learned his lesson. He would at least delay his betrayal, now that he knew he was suspected. And his injuries would keep him from hurting Lloyd for a while, too. Maybe he could 'accidently' get him hurt again once he was healed. For now, though, for Lloyd's sake, he would leave him alone.

TheDarknessReturn

"Oh Mira…" A singsong voice woke the blond girl from her restless sleep, and she lifted her head to see a familiar figure standing in front of her.

" _Reena!_ " Mira instantly rolled over into a crouch, spinning around and trying to kick the dark-haired girl's feet out from under her. To her surprise, though, she went right through her cousin, spinning too far and falling off balance with a yelp. An illusion. But that meant Reena was nearby. The vision chuckled, folding her arms.

"You think I'd willingly come out into the middle of your camp? I'm not that foolish."

"Oh yeah?" Mira hissed. "You were foolish enough to join Morro."

"Come now, Mimora. That's not foolishness. After all, I'm the one on the winning team." The Reena image smirked and flipped her head. "That's what I'm here about, actually. I have a proposition for you."

"No way. Not interested." Mira got to her feet, crossing her arms and glaring at the image.

"I don't care. You have to. Unless you lost your honor since we last met."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember these?" The illusion held up her arm, the starlight glinting off the amber bracelet hanging there. Mira's hand lifted to her neck absently, where an emerald necklace hung. "That's right. The jewelry we exchanged with a promise to always have each other's backs."

"Sure I do. But why is it that I have to have your back, instead of you having mine?" Mira clutched the amulet in her fist.

"Because you owe me!" Reena's image jabbed a finger at her. "I saved your life. I've had your back. Now it's your turn to stand with me." Mira hesitated. It was true – if not for Reena, she would be as good as dead.

"Alright." She said at last. "Let's talk."

TheDarknessReturn

One would think, that, seeing as ghosts couldn't really feel, they wouldn't be able to feel pain either.

One would be wrong in that assumption.

Morro squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth, clutching a pillow to his chest as he tried to think about anything but the horrible pain in his head. It didn't work. **** that hurt. He wanted to sleep, but… the pain was just too great. He had managed to fall asleep earlier, but then Lloyd had been distracting him. Now he was alone.

Just then, he heard the door to the jail swing open, and he opened his eyes hopefully. Maybe Lloyd had come back. To his dismay, it was Indigo who entered the room, not Lloyd. He closed his eyes again. Why was she here? To gloat? To hurt him? But… Lloyd had taken the keys, she couldn't get in. So he should be safe. Maybe if he just ignored her, she would go away. He took a deep breath, trying to pretend to sleep, but a stab of pain went through him and he let out a weak hiss.

"If you're pretending to sleep, it's not working." Indigo's monotone voice echoed through the small room. Morro opened one eye to see her sitting cross legged in front of his cell. He ignored her, closing his eyes again and taking another breath. "Well? You're not even going to acknowledge me?"

"Waste of breath." He muttered. "No point when every one hurts." Indigo was silent for a few moments.

"So he did hurt you pretty badly."

"Yes."

"Hmm." She was silent for a long time. Finally, she said, "Do you want me to knock you out?"

"What? No. I'm hurt bad enough as it is." He glanced up at her in confusion. What?

"No, not like hit you. My powers drain energy. Remember?"

"Uh…" Oh yeah. "Yeah."

"So I can put you to sleep."

"Oh." That did sound appealing. Every second he spent asleep was another second he wasn't focusing on his head. "…yeah, I guess… but why? Don't you hate me?"

"Kinda. But I also feel a bit sorry for causing what happened to you, so… the least I can do is stop it from hurting for a time."

"Oh." That was… nice of her. "But… it doesn't work unless you touch me, right?" He was at the back of the cell, and it was locked.

"Yeah. And?"

"And you can't reach me from there."

"No. But I have the keys."

"What? But Lloyd took them."

"Yeah, he fell asleep and I took them from his pocket."

"…oh." So she could hurt him if she wanted to. He felt his apprehension start to rise again as he heard the key clicking in the lock, then the door sliding open. He heard almost inaudible footsteps, then Indigo sat down in front of him with a snicker.

"Well this is a change of pace."

"What?" he glanced up at her.

" _You're_ afraid of _me._ Instead of the reverse."

"I'm not afraid of you." He argued quickly.

"Oh please. I've been around long enough to recognize fear when I see it." She rolled her eyes. "You clutched the pillow tighter when I entered, and your breathing quickened. And you're hesitant when you speak."

"I'm not." He argued again, but his voice faltered.

"Yes you are. Now shut up or I won't knock you out." Morro growled, but fell silent. She was obviously trying to provoke him. Whatever, it's not like he could do anything to her even if he wanted to. After a moment, one finger touched his shoulder, and he felt a somewhat familiar sensation of exhaustion. Then he blacked out.

* * *

 **So anyway I posted a oneshot and like 2 people saw it because I posted a chapter of this right after so GO READ THAT**

 **alsoooo yesterday was TheSincereViolinist's birthday go shower her with love and affection**

 **would've been nice if I could've gotten this posted yesterday**

 **but nooooo**

 **~FFF**


	45. Chapter 45

**Can you believe we're on chapter 45 already**

 **Hello yes I am alive**

 **and I'm writing on a regular basis again I just haven't found much motivation to actually... type it in.**

 **It doesn't help that my computer time is being taken up doing driving practice. :P**

 **Review Replies(I'm pretty sure I didn't reply to these in the A/N or something):**

 **NinjagoMLP: Mira... is going to get herself in a lot of trouble.**

 **Ebony: Morro is a good friend, but he's not perfect. He has abandonment issues.**

 **Pastelninjamonile: Something bad is always going to happen.**

 **EntityEndDragon: The keyword there is "may". They "may" be happy.**

 **Draconis: Indigo is eternally salty.**

 **Windy: Yep, that one. Sneaky Indigo makes another appearance next chapter :)**

 **Samantha: Indeed.**

* * *

"Stop." Kai hissed, lifting a hand to warn those behind him. None of them moved as the patrol passed by, then Kai lowered his hand and they continued farther into the alleys. They had entered Ninjago City early this morning, and had spent the next hour sneaking towards Bansha's castle. So far, it hadn't seemed like they'd been spotted. And they were almost there. It seemed like security had gone up, since Bansha knew what had happened to Morro and was trying to avoid the same. Too bad she wasn't gonna succeed.

Before he knew it, the wall around the courtyard loomed up in front of them, and they made their way in with their usual strategy: the Nyas jumping in and murdering everyone. Once the guards were gotten rid of, the rest headed through and began to make their way towards the throne room. Kai felt confident. They had done all of this before, and they had more allies this time. How could they possibly fail? Of course, thoughts like that were only going to jinx it, so he moved his thoughts elsewhere.

Whatever happened to that pair that captured Morro and Lloyd 1? Lloyd had said Morro 2 had promised them a reward, but then he had gone back with them to their base, so probably he hadn't gotten around to doing that. Were they still around? Maybe they had gotten really mad when Morro failed to reward them and now violently opposed him and those who took his place. But it was unlikely. So they'd have to watch out for them.

The group stopped in front of the throne room door, and Mira snuck inside, cloaking herself with her powers, to check it out. When she came back a minute later, she reported in a whisper,

"Bansha's on her throne, giving orders to a group of about 20 ghosts. There's a group of 6 guards on each side of her throne, and Reena is standing on her left. The 20 should be gone in a few minutes, should we wait?" Kai nodded.

"Might as well. If we can grab her, the Sword of Sanctuary, and the Realm Crystal, then skedaddle before reinforcements come, we'll be in good shape." Mira nodded, and they quieted to wait for the guards to leave. After a few silence minutes, they were startled by the door in front of them opening and the group of guards flooding through. Crap. Nya 1 killed them all in an instant, but their cover was blown.

"What?" Bansha 2 exclaimed from inside the throne room. "Call for reinforcements! Go!" She ordered as Kai ran through the open door, beckoning for the others to follow. The sorceress rose from her throne, drawing her staff as they approached her. "NOW!" She yelled. Suddenly, dozens of ghosts appeared, either appearing out of nowhere – dropping invisibility – or phasing through the walls.

"WHOA!" Kai yelled, jumping back. "Nyas, get them!" The two water mistresses attacked, shooting the army with jets of water.

It went through them.

"Oh. Oh no. Bad bad bad." Jay 2 mumbled, eyes wide as he backed away in alarm.

"Illusions?" Dyana suggested, backing away with the rest. Mira, who was standing at the front of the group, yelped as a ghost punched her in the gut, knocking her to the ground.

"Mira!" Lilia exclaimed, running forward to pull her to her feet.

"Okay, not illusions. Run!" Kai ordered, turning around to lead their retreat. He heard footsteps following them, and glanced over his shoulder to see the ghosts giving chase. He had to get them out of here. "Andreea!" he yelled. "Blind them!" Nodding, the diamond master spun around and flashed a white light at those chasing them, making them exclaim in shock and run into each other. That would buy them some time. As they passed a doorway, a flash of light caught Kai's eye, and he turned to investigate. In the room was, to his shock, the Realm Crystal, sitting unguarded on a pedestal. Glancing back and forth, the fire ninja dashed forward and snatched it, then ran back out to join the others. "I got the Realm Crystal!" He yelled. "Once we get away, we can teleport back to the base!"

"Why not just do it now?" Nico yelled back.

"I don't want any invincible ghosts following us in!" The red ninja replied, speeding up until he was at the front of the group again.

"Oh. Yeah." The group hurried out into the courtyard, then quickly scaled the wall and ran into the slums. The army didn't seem to be following, but he would wait until they got out into the desert to use the Crystal. He didn't know how they were resistant to water, but they couldn't have them getting anywhere near Stiix. If they did, that would be it. The war would be over, and the Preeminent would be the winner.

And they just couldn't have that, could they?

TheDarknessReturn

"Your Majesty!" A voice echoed through Morro's small cell, and he flinched as pain shot through him upon his waking. Who was bothering him? "Your Majesty, wake up." He heard keys clinking, then his cell door opened, and a hand grabbed his shoulder, giving him a shake. Instantly, he let out a pained snarl, clutching the pillow tighter to his chest.

"I'm _awake_." He hissed. "Who… who are you?" He demanded, his voice as threatening as he could manage.

"My name is Charlie. I'm here to free you." Charlie? That name was familiar… "Are you hurt?"

"Badly." He mumbled. "I can't move… at all."

"Oh." Did he want to leave? Even if he could? No… out there, he would be locked up by Bansha or killed by the commoners. It was better to stay here, with the one person in the world who actually liked him. "How badly?"

"My skull is cracked."

"How did that happen?"

"I was… beaten. By the other me."

"Oh."

"And, even if I could, I… I don't want to leave." He said haltingly.

"What? You're a prisoner!" Charlie exclaimed in confusion.

"But the Preeminent… is done with me. She's shunned me. If I leave, she'll… lock me up."

"How is that worse than here, where you're beaten?"

"Because… because of Lloyd."

"What?"

"Lloyd made him stop. Lloyd is kind to me… more than anyone else I've ever met." Except maybe Wu. "When I get better… he'll let me out. Let me join him." He wasn't sure, but he hoped he would. "Wait, that's… that's where I remember your name from. You threatened to shoot him!"

"Of course I did. He's the enemy!" Her voice was cold. "So that's how you're going to be, huh? Get captured and join the enemy, no matter how badly they treat you?"

"The side I was on betrayed me!" He hissed. "Where else could I go?"

"You could have accepted your fate and let the Preeminent punish you!"

"And just give up? Do you really think I'm that kind of person?"

"I thought you had more honor than this!"

"I haven't done anything honorable since I was a child! I had no honor at all until I joined Lloyd!"

"Betrayal isn't honorable."

"You're right. But I wasn't the one doing the betraying." Before he could say more, a foot connected with his head, and he let out a scream as pain exploded through him.

"You're a filthy betrayer who should have done what his master ordered!" She hissed as he clutched his head with his good hand. "I don't care how bad you had it, you should have just stayed in line!"

"No!" He bit back through the pain. "The Preeminent is a h-horrible creature, and I w-won't do what she says!"

"Then you can suffer!" She kicked him in the head again, and he let out a choked scream. Then the door slammed open.

"Charlie?" Lloyd's voice. "Seriously? In the middle of the night?" Morro heard a thud, and a grunt from Charlie. He heard the sound of keys again, then the door of the cell next to him slammed shut. He heard her scream in frustration, then a hand touched his shoulder lightly. "Did she hurt you badly?" Lloyd asked softly.

"Kicked… kicked m'in the head… twice."

"Oh no." he felt Lloyd prod gently at his head, and a pained hiss escaped him. "Sorry. I don't think she injured your head any more, you just… will be in a lot of pain for a while."

"It hurts… hurts a LOT, th-though…"

"Oh stop acting so weak." Charlie scoffed. "Lloyd may not see through it, but I can. You're obviously just trying to get pity."

"You just _kicked him_ in his _cracked head. Twice._ I'm amazed he can still speak." Lloyd snapped. "Just shut up. You did this to him."

"And he did this to me." She replied smoothly. "I don't think so."

"You know what? Fine." Lloyd's arms slid underneath him, and the pillow he had been clutching slipped from his grasp as he was lifted up off the floor. "He'll be better off with a real bed anyway." Leaning him against his chest, Lloyd carried him out of the room, carrying him through the base. After a minute, he was lowered onto a soft mattress, then the blond left again. Where was he? He started to move to lift his head, but quickly decided against it as pain stabbed through him again. Some bedroom. It was more comfortable than his cell, so he wasn't complaining. After a few minutes, he heard footsteps, then a gentle hand lifted his head, sliding a pillow underneath before lowering him down onto it. A few moments later, a pair of shackles fitted around his wrists, snapping into place. He felt a pang of disappointment. Lloyd didn't trust him not to run, not even in this state.

"I'm sorry about the cuffs." Lloyd said softly – he must have reacted visibly. "I know you won't do anything, but… the others will never let you stay out of jail without some sort of restraint." Oh. That made him feel a bit better. "I'm gonna stay here, okay? I don't know what the others would do if they found you here alone."

"M'kay." Morro murmured. He felt the bed shift, then Lloyd's hand began to rub his shoulders. Those, at least, weren't injured, and he managed to relax a bit despite the pain. "Thanks…"

"You're welcome." Lloyd was smiling – he could hear it in his voice. He was happy. That he had pleased him, or something else? He was too tired to overthink Lloyd's emotions. After a few minutes of the blond's treatment, Morro passed out, fast asleep.

* * *

 **Lloyd 1: so is this the part where morro gets a break from being beat up**

 **me: *sweats nervously***

 **~FFF**


	46. Chapter 46

**another update on a decent time frame? Yeah boi**

 **Review replies:**

 **Pastelninjamonlie: Heck same. Well, actually most of my drawings are various sketches of Indigo. But I have a ton of Morro and Lloyd drawings as well. You'll have to show me yours sometime!**

 **Ebony: Actually, the illusion of Morro 2 distracted Morro 1 while the real Morro 2, invisible, attacked him. Also yes... Mira might possibly have a lot to do with it...**

 **NinjagoMLP: His forgivingness has, and will again, get him into trouble.**

 **EntityEndDragon: Excessively mean? To my charac ters ? Wh y woul d I ever b e me an t o my ch er s s...?**

* * *

 _"You have failed."_

"I have not failed." Bansha muttered in response to the voice in her head. "All is going according to plan."

 _"Perhaps so. But will that plan work?"_

"Yes."

 _"How can you know?"_

"My agents are capable. I trust them to get the job done."

 _"Very well."_ The Preeminent's presence faded away, and Bansha sighed, rubbing her aching forehead.

"Reena," She called towards the young woman on the other side of the room. The girl approached, and the blademistress said, "Are you completely sure you know what you're doing? This is the Realm Crystal we're talking about here."

"Of course I do." Reena gave her a 'no problem' gesture. "I'm an illusionist. I've been tricking people my entire life. It's my whole thing. If anyone can create strife and mayhem within the ninja, leaving them hilariously vulnerable, it's me."

"Very well. But we _are_ relying on one of _them_ to make this work… are you sure that's a good idea?"

"What, Mira? Oh, we can trust her. She owes me big, and she knows it."

"If you say so. I still find this entire operation very precarious."

"Of course you do." Reena patted her arm, then walked away. Bansha frowned under her mask. She had an uncanny feeling that if she were replaced, that girl would be the next one in charge. The sorceress wasn't sure if that meant she should try to get on her good side…

…or eliminate her.

TheDarknessReturn

Morro lay on his side on the soft bed, his eyes closed and his body limp as he let Andreea heal his wounds. The pain in his head melted away, followed by the pain in his hand. The blows to his stomach and side had mostly healed, so he had told her not to waste her energy on those. Once she was finished, she left – again, without a word. Morro sat up, letting out a sigh of relief as he flexed his now-healed hand.

"It's nice to be able to move again." He remarked to Lloyd, who was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"It is." Lloyd agreed. On an impulse, the ghost leaned over and hugged him, hooking his chained hands over his head and pressing his face into his shoulder. Lloyd returned it without missing a beat, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him close. "Now let's work on keeping you uninjured for at least a couple days, shall we?" The blond suggested as he pulled away. Morro chuckled.

"Yeah, that would be nice." Lloyd stood up, ducking out from under his chains.

"I need to meet with the others. Stay here, okay?"

"Okay." Morro nodded, lying down again. His stomach was still sore, and he was tired from his body trying to heal, so he just lay and rested while Lloyd left to go strategize. This was so much better than the cold, cramped cell.

The ghost closed his eyes, curling up a bit and tucking a pillow into his chest. He had always slept hugging a pillow, the habit starting when he lived with Wu and sticking with him for all those years. Reena had come into his room and found him doing it once, and had told him that hugging a pillow was a sign of missing someone. At the time, he had wondered who he could possibly be missing. Now that he thought about it, though, it was probably Sensei. Sensei hadn't come to see him… he must be so angry at him for what he'd done. He would have to apologize to him… along with everyone else, of course.

After lying there for a while, alone with his thoughts, he heard the door open, and rolled over to see Mira entering the room.

"Lloyd sent me to unchain you." She didn't sound hostile. That was a good sign. "He wants you to come to the meeting, prove you're not dangerous."

"Oh." Morro sat up as she approached, holding out his chained wrists. She took out a key and fumbled with one cuff for a moment before getting it unlocked and reaching for the next.

Then everything went black.

"What the-?!" Morro exclaimed, sitting up straight in alarm.

"Sorry about this." Before he could ask what, an elbow cracked again his chin, and his head snapped to the side, jaw probably broken. As he was reeling from the blow, he felt his arms yanked behind his back and chained there. When he blinked his eyes open, he could see again, but the room was distorted, everything wobbling so he could barely keep his balance sitting down. He couldn't tell if it was the blow to the head, or Mira's doing.

"Get up!" He was shoved off the bed, and he stumbled to his knees, unable to find footing in the dizzying room. Hands grabbed his shoulders and hauled him upright, pushing him in the direction of the door, but he pulled away, falling again. "Do as I say, or I'll hit you again!" Mira snapped. He hesitated, staring up at her blurry figure. What did she want with him? It couldn't be anything too bad… could it? So he obeyed, staggering to his feet and towards the doorway. She guided him down the hall, warning him that if he tried to call for help she would hurt him worse. As they approached an exit, his vision faded to black again, and he stopped short.

"Just keep walking." She ordered. Hesitantly, he obeyed. What was she going to do to him? And outside the base, no less. "I am sorry. Really. It's nothing personal. I just can't have you messing things up." The darkness lifted, and he found himself standing on the edge of one of Stiix's many bridges, facing the churning sea. "Goodbye." The last thing he heard was a shout before he was pushed off the edge, into the ocean to die.

TheDarknessReturn

"HEY!" The shout left Indigo's lips too late and she watched in wide-eyed shock as Mira pushed the bound ghost off the bridge. She heard a scream of pain from below, then nothing. Wh-why? Why would Mira just kill him?! Indigo was no friend of Morro 2, but she knew not to throw him in the ocean! "I saw that!" She yelled as Mira turned, surprised.

"And what are you going to do about it?" The illusionist recovered, folding her arms. "We've fought before. You can't beat me."

"Oh yeah? Well this time I have the element of surprise." Indigo turned invisible, heading towards her to knock her out. To her surprise, though, Mira vanished as well.

"That's not a unique trick, little ghost." She couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. "I'll be leaving now." Suddenly, dozens of Miras appeared, all heading in a different direction. Crap! Indigo could only watch as they all wandered off, unable to figure out which was the real one. As they dispersed, Indigo let her cloak drop, starting to head back to the base. She had to tell Lloyd what Mira had done.

"I-Indigo!" A familiar voice made her freeze, and she spun around to find the source. "H-help!" Morro? He should be dead! Hurrying back to the bridge, Indigo knelt down and peered over the edge. To her shock, Morro was hanging just above the water, the chain connecting his cuffs having caught on a beam that jutted out over the water. His arms… Indigo was no doctor, but she knew that arms weren't supposed to bend like that. Both his shoulders must be dislocated.

His expression was pained as well as panicked. Probably afraid of having to ask for her to help, as well as his precarious situation. Afraid she would just finish the job. She wouldn't, of course. She respected Lloyd's wishes more than that. Frowning, she bit her lip.

"I'm not sure how to get you up without hurting you worse." She muttered aloud.

"J-just- just get me up. If I fall…" It looked like he had calmed a bit when she made it clear she was going to help him, but he was still scared.

"Okay…" Indigo reached down, carefully leaning forward off the edge, and touched one of his hands, draining his energy and watching him go limp. She wasn't strong enough to lift him without a boost. Leaning off a bit farther – which put her in even more of a precarious position – Indigo grabbed the ex-ruler by the back of his shirt, hauling him up onto the dock. His face was swollen, she noted. Why, she wasn't sure. Maybe he had hit his head on something while falling.

Slipping her arms underneath him, Indigo picked him up fairly easily – despite his size, she wasn't very heavy. She started to head back to the base with him, but stopped. Mira had almost certainly gone back there. If she caught them by surprise, she would beat her and probably kill them both. She couldn't risk that. Instead, Indigo carried him farther into Stiix, into a quiet, empty alley where she laid him behind a pile of boxes. Here, they could hide out until he was lucid enough to watch out for himself for a bit. Then she could sneak back and get Lloyd.

For the moment, she had to play bodyguard – and probably nurse – for a guy she didn't even like. Whatever. It was for Lloyd's sake. Sighing, Indigo leaned back against the wall. There was nothing to do now except for wait for him to wake up.

* * *

 **what's a break and why would morro 2 be able to have one**

 **I'm like 90% sure this has at least one typo considering I was working on this VERY quickly last night but hey let's hope it doesn't**

 **~FFF**


	47. Chapter 47

**I can't believe the fire nation was defeated yesterday  
**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Monile: Morro NEVER gets a break.**

 **NinjagoMLP: Mira is a bad child.**

 **Nicktastic: ^**

 **Ebony: He's fairly tough. He's broken bones before, which meant they've healed back stronger.**

 **EntityEndDragon: Unfortunately, yes.**

 **Samantha: Good. You should be afraid.**

 **Chan: THANK YOU**

 **Windy: Indy might like him a bit more than she lets on. Also yeah, I've read about that. Funny, I always hug a pillow/stuffed animal when I sleep... I wonder who I miss.**

* * *

"So obviously the first thing we're going to do is find my dad." Lloyd 2 said bluntly.

"Well, that would take some planning." Zane 1 said thoughtfully. "We can't just watlz in and hang out, we'll be spotted. The Preeminent will most likely sense us. We'll have to be in and out."

"We can do that. We have the Realm Crystal."

"Yes, but we need to break your father's chains."

"How did you break your Garmadon's chains?" The crippled ninja nodded towards the elderly man on the other side of the room.

"We got Clouse to free him from his curse."

"And where is Clouse?"

"Just down the hall from him. I think."

"Then we shouldn't have any problem." The ninja and co were meeting to discuss their next move, now that they had the Realm Crystal. Though he hadn't spoken, Lloyd agreed that they should go get his double's father. The other him might be more accepting of Morro 2 if his father was returned. Not to mention Morro 1.

"True enough." The nindroid nodded. "All in favor, say aye." A chorus of 'aye's sounded from around the table. "Good. After that, then what?"

"We try to capture Bansha again?" Kai 2 suggested.

"Yeah. And take the city while we're at it." Jay 1 agreed.

"Or," Dyana spoke up. "We could just kill the entire city, with Bansha in it. That would be easier than trying to capture her, and she would lose her strongest point. And we'd free so many people." Jay 1 tapped his finger on his chin.

"That could work, but then we'd still have to deal with her."

"She's just the Preeminent's pawn." Lila pointed out. "She'll be replaced by someone just as bad." Jay frowned.

"Good point." He admitted. "Yeah, it's probably not worth it to capture her."

"Yeah." The door opened behind them, and Lloyd glanced over his shoulder to see Morro entering the room. Wait, that's… that was Morro 2. Why was here? Lloyd had told him to stay in his room. And, where his chains… snapped? His deepstone cuffs were broken on the chain, the remaining links hanging uselessly from the cuffs on his wrists.

"Morro?" He spoke up uncertainly. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm here…" Morro walked to the enter of the room, ignoring the fact that all eyes were on him, and snatched up the Realm Crystal. "For this." Half the room shot to their feet, including Lloyd.

"Morro, what are you doing? Give me that!" He ordered, raising his voice. The ghost only smirked.

"I don't think so. I don't follow your orders anymore." He spun around, throwing the others – who had been trying to approach - back with a gust of wind.

"Morro!" Lloyd tried to grab him, but he went through him. The ghost glanced over his shoulder.

"Oh, do you think you can stop me?" Turning, he grabbed Lloyd by the front of the shirt, slamming him against the wall. "You're a gullible fool." He hissed as Lloyd struggled. "What gave you the idea that I, your worst enemy, could ever be your _friend?_ " The others tried to attack him, but he blew them back again. "You did treat me well. So I'll have mercy on you." He smirked, dropping him to the ground. "But I will take a hostage. How about…" His eyes swept over the group before landing on Indigo. "You." With a gust of wind, Morro grabbed the void mistress and pulled her towards him.

"NO!" Morro 1 screamed as Indigo cried out in alarm. Without giving her a chance to react, Morro 2 created a portal and vanished through it with Indigo. Sinking to the ground as the others began to exclaim in shock and horror, Lloyd covered his face in shame. No. This couldn't be happening. Because of his foolishness, they had lost Indigo, the Realm Crystal, and a dangerous prisoner. Lloyd started to cry. Morro 1 had been right, he was faking it. He had been faking it all along. And Morro 2 was right too, he was a gullible fool. He had put all their plans in jeopardy.

Nearby, Mira fainted.

TheDarknessReturn

"Ow…" Morro 2 flinched as Indigo's fiddling with his cuffs jarred his broken arms. "Owww, that hurts."

"Well I can't do anything about your arms until those chains come off. So just hold still." Indigo muttered, trying to pick the locks on his shackles.

"But it hurts." The ex-king whined.

"I know it does. But if I'm going to fix your arms…"

"Yeah, I know.' Morro shut up, but still whimpered and tried to pull away from time to time. Finally, she managed to get one wrist free, and he pulled his arms in front of him with a relieved sigh. "Th-thank you…"

"Let me see if I can get the other one off." Indigo shifted to his right and began to mess with the remaining cuff, soon getting it off as well. After hooking the chains to her belt – she figured they could be useful for something – she moved to sit in front of him and tried to assess his injuries. "Do you feel like anything's broken?"

"I think my wrists, and my shoulders are dislocated…" He stared at the ground, arms limp.

"I can snap your shoulders back into place, but…"

"…but it will hurt." He finished.

"It will make them hurt less, though."

"I… can you knock me out first?"

"Mmm… I guess." Indigo touched his arm and drained his energy, waiting for him to slump to the ground before grabbing his shoulder and forcing it into place. There was a popping sound, but the ghost didn't flinch. He was completely out. Good, she would prefer to not have to listen to his screaming. She did the same for his other shoulder, then sat back, hoping she'd done it right.

"Hey." Indigo jumped, whirling around at the voice from the end of the alley. "Don't I know him from somewhere?" A figure stood in the shadows at the end of the alley, their face hidden by the growing darkness.

"Uhh… probably, considering he used to rule the world." Indigo got to her feet, backing up warily. Did she know this person? Were they an enemy? If they weren't, why didn't they reveal themselves?

"Wait, that… that's Morro?" The figure crept out of the shadows, revealing a tall, dark-haired girl. Not someone she knew. "I heard he was killed. Who are you?

"Who are _you?_ " Indigo shot back.

"I asked first." The girl folded her arms, straightening up.

"I asked second." Indigo raised an eyebrow. The girl huffed.

"Fine. I'm Nicole. Who are you?"

"I'm Indigo."

"What's he doing here?"

"Trying to heal." Indigo knelt by his silent body, putting a protective hand on his arm.

"Heal from what?"

"Uh, well… he didn't die, he got captured by the good guys and the Preeminent replaced him with Bansha. Lloyd got him to turn good, then someone we thought was an ally uh… threw him off a bridge. He survived, but he got pretty badly hurt."

"Oh." The human girl frowned. "Poor guy." She sat down about a foot away from him. "He's sleeping?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty much."

"Hmm." Nicole lifted her hand, and a light blue mist floated from it towards the sleeping ghost's head. Immediately, Indigo shot to her feet.

"What are you doing? What was that?!" She demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" The girl smirked. Indigo took a fighting stance.

"If you hurt him-"

"Alright, alright. I didn't hurt him." Nicole raised her hands in surrender. "I'm an elemental master. I just gave him good dreams."

"You what?" Indigo relaxed her stance a bit.

"I'm the master of dreams." She elaborated. "I can affect them. He looked restless, so I improved his dreams." Indigo glanced down as Morro shifted a bit in his sleep.

"That doesn't sound very practical." She said bluntly. "Your element."

"It's more handy than you might think." Nicole shrugged. "I can give people daydreams, talk to them in dreams, influence their thoughts in my favor… it's gotten me out of plenty of scrapes."

"Huh." Indigo sank down on the ground again. "So I'm assuming you live here?"

"Yep. Lived here all my life. How'd a ghost like you end up becoming buddies with the ninja?"

"Simple. I was buddies with the ninja before I became a ghost."

"Ah." The dream mistress nodded. They were both silent for a few moments before Indigo spoke.

"You wouldn't mind staying here and keeping an eye on him while I go get help, would you?"

"Uh… not really." Nicole shook her head. "Why?"

"If he's alone, someone random might find him and finish him off."

"Uh, okay." The human shrugged. "Sure."

"Great. But if you hurt him, I will kill you." Indigo gave her a suspicious glare before turning invisible and scampering off out of the alley. It was an empty threat, she didn't care enough about Morro to kill someone for his sake. But hopefully it would keep her in line. Keeping her cloak up, Indigo ran off, towards the base and towards Lloyd.

* * *

 **Mira: Well I managed to lose Indigo to so I have to come up with an explanation for that**

 **Mira: Oh this works**

 **Emobillcipher: You didn't give me many details for Nicole, so I inputted my own ideas. Hope you don't mind. Also, in case you didn't get my reply, your email didn't show up in the message you sent me.**

 **Also, the next thing I post will not be an update to this. It will be something far more... sad.**

 **So you can look forward to that.**

 **:)**

 **~FFF**


	48. Chapter 48

**doncha just love college**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: Mira's plans are totally 100% foolproof.**

 **NinjagoMLP: Just wait until next chapter.**

 **Zena: It would be hard to stop them.**

 **Nicktastic: And angry. Don't forget angry.**

 **Emobilcipher: Good to hear it.**

 **Entity: Yeahh I thought I was done with OCs but then a friend asked to put one in so I was just like "eh ill make it work" xD**

 **Pastelninjamonile: I actually laughed so hard at your review**

 **Samantha: Yep! I actually glanced at it then my eyes started doing funky things and I thought I was going blind. shrug**

 **Windy: Since I already answered your review, remember a couple years ago when we would just have these looooong back and forth conversations about life and things and it would take like 30 minutes to do review replies? Ah, memories.**

* * *

Lloyd sat listlessly against the wall in the hall outside his room, staring listlessly at the ceiling. He didn't dare enter his room – Morro was in there. He didn't want to have to face him after the mistake he'd made.

There had been no more talk of plans after Morro 2 had escaped. Everyone was too shocked to think of anything. Poor Mira had fainted after the ordeal, and was currently resting up in the medical bay.

Lloyd felt horrible. All of this was his fault. He had let his guard down, let Morro fool him into releasing him from his cell. He was the reason they had lost the Realm Crystal. Lost Indigo. All of this was clearly an elaborate plot, getting them to bring the Realm Crystal to their base so Morro could make a quick getaway. And they had fallen for it. He was such an idiot.

"Psst." A voice made him jump, and he looked back and forth for the source, which he was confused to see was not there. "What _happened_ since I was last here?" To his shock, Indigo faded into view beside him, sitting cross-legged against the wall.

"Indigo?" He exclaimed in shock, but she clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shh. There's a reason I'm sneaking around." She hussed. He nodded, and she uncovered his mouth.

"How did you escape?" he whispered in awe.

"Escape?" She raised an eyebrow.

"From Morro 2." He elaborated.

"What?" She sat up straight with a frown. "I wasn't captured. I hid."

"But… I saw you." He tilted his head.

"Explain."

"Uh, Morro 2 came into the meeting and grabbed the Realm Crystal, then grabbed you and vanished into a portal." He explained, still confused. She had been there. Hadn't she?

"Mira." The ghost girl muttered, propping her chin on her hand. "After you left, she went to Morro 2's room and attacked him before dragging him outside and throwing him off a bridge. Fortunately, his cuffs caught on a beam, so he didn't die. _Un_ fortunately, he dislocated both his shoulders and broke both his wrists in the fall.

"I tried to confront Mira, but she evaded me, so I pulled Morro up. I didn't wanna take him back to the base with Mira here, so I took him to an alley." She tapped her finger on her chin as Lloyd stared. So he hadn't betrayed them! "She must've needed an excuse to have me not be there, since I ran off, so she made an illusion of me get captured by an illusion of him, who had an illusion of the Realm Crystal. Which means she must have it."

"Oh. But… he picked me up and threw me against the wall." The blond frowned. "How could an illusion do that?"

"I dunno. She probably just made you _think_ you were getting thrown against the wall."

"I guess."

"Okay, come on. You've gotta come and help me with Morro 2. I don't entirely trust the person I left him with."

"Okay. Wait, who?"

"Some girl who showed up. She seemed fairly trustworthy."

"Ah… okay then. But, wait, we should tell our Morro that you're okay. He's really upset."

"Oh. Yeah. Where is he?"

"Just in here." Lloyd scrambled to his feet, opening the door as Indigo followed suit. Morro was curled up on his side on his bed, fast asleep. Stopping by the side of his bed, Lloyd moved to shake him away, but he was incorporeal. He glanced at Indigo, who stepped through him and grabbed her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Morro…" She said in a singsong voice. "Wake uuuup…" The ghost boy shifted, then looked up, tired eyes widening in shock.

"Indigo!" he rolled over on his back and reached up, pulling her into a hug. She pulled him up into a sitting position before pulling away, and he stammered, "How- how did you-"

"I was never captured. It was a trick." She explained. "Mira's been playing you all for fools."

"Oh." Morro sat up, rubbing his head. "What… where were you, then?"

"I'll explain on the way. Come on."

"Wait, where?"

"To check on your double, who Mira threw to his death."

"What?"

"I said I'd explain! Come on!" She grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. "I'll lead you there, but I have to be invisible. I don't want Mira seeing me."

"O…kay." Lloyd watched as she turned invisible, still holding Morro's hands, then let go of one and lead him out of the room. The blond quickly followed, not wanting to lose them. He was much happier now than he had been a few minutes ago. Indigo was safe, Morro 2 wasn't a traitor, and he wasn't a huge failure. Mira was evil, but he preferred her betrayal to Morro's. Soon, they would have Mira locked up, Morro 2 healed, and the Realm Crystal recovered. Their plans would be back on track.

TheDarknessReturn

Morro awoke to soft humming.

His shoulders still ached, but the pain had gone down. Indigo – who must be the one humming – must have set them back in place. He shifted a bit, hoping the humming would lull him back to sleep. He had been having a good dream, of when he was a kid living with Sensei. Before he had heard the prophecy of the green ninja. Life had been so simple then. He shifted again, trying to get comfortable on the cold ground, then tried to drift off again. Unfortunately, just then, the humming stopped.

"Oh, you're awake." _That_ wasn't Indigo's voice. It wasn't one he had ever heard before. Alarmed, he jerked up – only to whimper in pain and slump back down. "Did I startle you? Sorry." A hand touched his shoulder, but he flinched away. He managed to lift his head, blinking up at the person. It was a girl – or, a young woman, anyway.

"Who- who are you?" he stammered.

"I'm Nicole. Indigo told me to watch out for you while she got help." The girl explained.

"Oh." Morro lowered himself down again. "You're a… friend of hers?"

"Sort of. We kinda just met."

"Oh." And… Indigo trusted her? He curled up a bit.

"How did you get here?" Nicole asked out of the blue. "You used to rule the world. Now you're lying in an alley, half dead. What happened?" He was silent for a few moments, formulating his response.

"I was foolish." He said at last. "Foolish and stubborn. I came into the middle of the ninja's city and tried to kidnap Lloyd. I thought I was showing them that nowhere was safe. I got captured instead" He sighed. "And… Lloyd has been better to me than the Preeminent ever was. I know now that I was expendable. A pawn. Now I've been replaced, and… I don't really mind. Being Lloyd's friend is better than ruling the world." Nicole was silent for a few moments.

"Wow. I guess Lloyd is a pretty cool guy."

"I mean, he is. But I was never really happy as a tyrant. I thought I was. I thought I should be. After all, I had everything." He shrugged a little. "Of course, everyone hated me."

"There is that."

"That could've been why I was so reckless." He continued. "I wanted to impress. I wanted someone to be proud of me." He hesitated. "That's why I wanted to be the green ninja." He mumbled, almost to himself. "I wanted to prove that I, a common orphan, could be just as good as them. Better." He was quiet for a little while. Then he heard a voice.

"Good to see you're going some self-reflection. Might be good for you." He rolled over in surprise to see the other him standing at the end of the alley, and nearly panicked before realizing that he was accompanied by Indigo and Lloyd.

"You're back." He said, his voice clearly relieved. The blond quickly hurried forward, kneeling next to him to assess his injures.

"Your wrists are broken?" He asked.

"Yeah. And I think maybe my jaw too."

"Hmm." Lloyd scooped him up, then glanced at Nicole. "It's Nicole, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Wanna join us?"

"Sure." The dark-haired girl shrugged an followed them as they headed out of the alley.

"Wait…" Morro spoke up. "W-where are we going?"

"Back to the base." The green ninja replied.

"But- but what about Mira?"

"Don't worry, we'll deal with her."

"O-okay…" Morro let himself be carried back to the base, almost dozing off but fear keeping him awake. They weren't bothered as he was brought inside, then left in a vacant bedroom with Nicole. The others were going to confront Mira. Though he wanted to stay awake until they got back, to see how it had gone, he soon found that without the threat of being attacked he couldn't hold his eyes open any longer, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **Who here thinks I can develop a romance in under 20 chapters**

 **~FFF**


	49. Chapter 49

**Please pray for me guys I am very stressed**

 **Review replies:**

 **Monile: See? They're fine. ...for now. MWahahahahHHAHHAHAHHAHA-**

 **NinjagoMLP: True. xD**

 **Ebony: Poor Mira :( had to go through that :( must be so scared :(**

 **Nicktastic: Yeah, but like... I don't want to rush anything that would make them out of character. I think 20 chapters is enough, especially if they get certain... encouragements.**

 **Chantelle: Of course they are.**

 **Entity: tbh I got romance poisoning from writing Morro and Indigo's first kiss in book one. That was harder than it should have been.**

 **Windy: Yeah, email is easier. xD It also cuts the time I spend writing review replies in half. Gosh dang essays. You've probably finished at this point but I hope you did well ^ ^'**

 **Samantha: We shall see.**

* * *

"Good morning Mira." The illusion mistress shifted in her bed, trying to recognize the voice of the one who had just said her name. She failed. Whatever, she was too tired to care. The blond had expended a ton of energy when she pulled off that stunt earlier, manipulating the senses of everyone in a room at a time was incredibly exhausting. She had been worried that the others would suspect her when she passed out from the strain, but apparently they just chalked it up to fainting from fright. Whatever, better for them to think she was a silly little girl.

"Oh, wait, it's evening, isn't it?" The voice spoke again, and this time she cracked open an eye to see who had spoken. Instantly, her eyes shot wide open, and she sat up in shock. Indigo. "Didn't expect to see me again so soon, did you?" ****! She didn't do anything to get rid of her, of course the first thing she would do is come back and tell them about her!

A few of the others were gathered around her bed as well. There was no escape. At least, not through normal means. Quickly, she made an illusion of herself in the bed, then turned herself invisible, trying to slip past them.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Morro grabbed her arm, and she looked down in surprise to see her arm was visible. She also noticed for the first time that she was chained with Vengestone.

"Of course." She signed, backing up and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Well, I'm caught."

"Yep." Kai snapped his fingers. "Get up." She obeyed, following him out of the room as the other four followed. They brought her down towards the jail, and, along the way, she glanced through an open doorway and stopped short.

"Is that Morro?" She exclaimed in disbelief. Indigo glanced over at the motionless body on the bed.

"Yep. You actually failed to kill him. Good job with that." Indigo gave her a sarcastic pat on the shoulder, then kept walking. "Get moving." Mira frowned, obeying.

"…how?"

"His chains caught on a beam."

"But how? His hands were chained behind his back."

"And you dislocated both his arms. Congratulatyions." The ghost girl increased her pace, looking very annoyed. Because she hurt him? Huh. Mira had thought she didn't like him. The blond didn't fight as she was locked in a cell. The other, she noticed, was still occupied by Charlie.

"We'll interrogate you later." Kai said, hanging the Keys out of reach. "For now, enjoy your stay. And don't go making any escape plans with Charlie, we all know how _that_ goes." With that, the group filed out and the door was closed.

"So, you're turning against each other now, are you?" Mira glanced to her left to see Charlie leaning against the bars, a satisfied smile on her face. "This little rebellion will never work out."

"The only reason I changed sides was because I owed a debt." The illusionist said coolly. "Now that I have paid it, I am free to return to the right side."

"Hmph. As if they'll trust you now." The other girl raised an eyebrow.

"I don't need their trust to be on their side." The blond mimicked the gesture, and Charlie huffed and turned away. Satisfied that she had won the exchange, Mira sat down against the wall to await the others' return.

TheDarknessReturn

Nicole could still hardly believe this… this boy used to rule the world.

Morro lay on his side on the bed, chin tucked into the pillow he hugged in his sleep. Despite the odd tilt of his broken jaw, he was handsome. He made a sound in his sleep, a soft groan, from time to time. Maybe from pain? Or just a dream. Slowly, she reached out and touched the green streak in his hair, being careful not to wake him. It was soft. He was pretty cute. Well, he probably was. Nicole really hadn't been around males in so long that she didn't know what was considered attractive.

"Hey." Nicole jerked back at the sound of a voice, accompanied by the sound of the door opening, and looked up to see Lloyd and Andreea entering the room.

"Uh, hi." The dark-haired girl greeted them, slightly flustered. "Here to heal him?"

"Yeah." Andreea glanced at Lloyd. "He doesn't need to be awake, does he?"

"I shouldn't think so." The blond boy shook his head.

"Okay." The healer reached down and touched the sleeping ghost's chin, her fingers glowing white. "This is starting to get old…" She muttered as Morro's jaw repaired itself. The former king shifted, then blinked his eyes open as Andreea healed one shoulder.

"That's… better." He murmured, closing his eyes again. The brunette shrugged, healing his wrist before saying,

"Roll over. I need to get your other arm." The ghost complied, painstakingly rolling onto his other side. The pink ninja healed his other wrist and shoulder, then stepped back. "Anything else hurt?"

"No… no, this is good. Thank you." Morro gave her a faint smile. It was a cute smile. Nicole found herself smiling too.

"Alright." Andreea turned and left, but Lloyd stayed.

"Nicole, do you wanna go and introduce yourself to the others?" The blond suggested.

"Uh, sure, but first, can I ask something?" Nicole tilted her head. Lloyd nodded. "Why are there, uh… two of some people?"

"Oh. Indigo didn't explain?" The green ninja ran a hand through his hair. "Well, that's a bit of a long story, but the short version is that some of us are from another timeline. In that one, we beat Morro, then he joined our side, instead of him taking over the world."

"Okay then." Nicole nodded. "How can you tell who's from which timeline?"

"Well… ask them, for the most part." The blond shrugged. "You don't really know anyone. Um, I'm from the other timeline, if that wasn't obvious, Indigo's from the other timeline, and Jessica and Gin, Lila, Mira, and Nico are from this timeline…" Lloyd trailed off. "It would take too long to explain everyone. You'll pick it up."

"Eh." Nicole stood up. "I'll leave you two alone now." Lloyd opened his mouth to say something, but the mistress of dreams paid no attention, still thinking about Morro's smile. She left the room with a dreamy smile on her face, not even noticing Andreea until she spoke.

"You know he's taken, right?" Nicole stopped short.

"Huh?"

"Lloyd. He has a girlfriend." The brunette elaborated. The dark-haired girl stared at her blankly. "You have a lovey-dovey look on your face after talking to Lloyd."

"Oh. No, it wasn't Lloyd." Nicole made a 'nah' gesture.

"Oh. Wait, the only other one in there was…" Andreea narrowed her eyes. "…Morro."

"And? He's cute." The dream master turned and started heading down the hall the other way.

"You can't just- you don't know what he's done!" Andreea argued, following her.

"Oh don't I? I _live here._ I was here when he sunk the city. And you can't judge me, you barely know me."

"He's done worse than that!"

"And why do you heal him if he's so bad? And didn't he join your side? And why is it any of your business who I think is cute?" The pink ninja huffed, but didn't argue further. Smirking, Nicole continued down the hall. She had thought she felt an air of hatred towards Morro when they brought him back. That only made her more determined to befriend him. Spite would do that to you. Turning a corner, the dream mistress went in search of the others. It was time to meet her new team.

* * *

 ***summer begins***

 ***readers vanish***

 **me: huh. I guess they're doing summer things. they'll be back in fall.**

 ***school starts***

 ***more readers vanish***

 **me: thinking emoji**

 **So uh... I posted a oneshot. If you haven't already read it, check it out. It's angsty.**

 **~FFF**


	50. Chapter 50

**Can you believe we're at chapter 50 already**

 **Review replies:**

 **Nicktastic: FALL INTO THE SHIP ABYSS WITH ME**

 **Kat: Glad to hear xD**

 **Entity: Thank you!**

 **Monile: yessss SAME**

 **NinjagoMLP: You have my permission to steal it.**

 **Rosalina: :(**

 **Windy: He doesn't have a crush yet, but someone might have a crush on him~ That sounds awesome! I've only been to one concert ever and I didn't even know the singer xD DESSERTS OMG YOU'RE RIGHT**

 **Samantha: Yay**

* * *

"So Reena put you up to it." Lila mused, rubbing her chin as she sat cross-legged on the floor outside Mira's cell.

"Yeah." The illusionist nodded. "She approached me on our way to Bansha's castle, and reminded me of a debt I owed her. I had to obey. She had me make the ghosts look like they were immune to water, then get Kai to take the Realm Crystal. The whole thing was a setup. If not for Indigo, she might have pulled it off."

"Stupid, bratty little ghost." Charlie muttered from the next cell. "She ruins everything."

"I agree, she has foiled a lot of evil plots lately." Nico nodded next to Lila. "It's almost as if some higher force is having her play a more important role in preparation for something greater." The three girls stared at him for a few moments.

"Nah." Mira dismissed it after a few moments. "It's probably just dumb luck."

"That's more likely." Nico agreed.

"Well… I believe you, Mira, but…" Lila shook her head. "I don't think the others will. Especially Lloyd B and Indigo."

"That's understandable." Mira shrugged. "I'll make it up to them somehow. I imagine Lloyd's pretty pissed that I tried to murder our newest ally."

"More than that. He seems like he really likes Morro A." Nico commented. "Lloyd is one weird kid."

"Yeah. He's a nice guy. Too nice. I'm not sure how he can keep up being nice to everyone for so long." Lila shrugged. "I know I'd've cracked by now."

"Yeah." Mira nodded, and the three were silent for a moment.

"Well, the others are leaving for the Cursed Realm soon. We've gotta go up and join them." Nico broke the silence, standing up. "Have fun with your roommate."

"I'll do that." Mira watched as they left the dungeon, leaning back against the back wall of her cell and pillowing her head on her arms. Good luck, ninja. In the Cursed Realm, they were going to need it.

TheDarknessReturn

"I don't wanna go to the Cursed Realm." Morro mumbled, hiding under his blanket.

"I know you don't." Came Lloyd's reply. "But we need your help."

"No. No you don't." The former king peeked out from under the blanket to glare at him. "You have all the others going with you, why would you need me? I'm just a wind master, not something useful like water."

"You're wind, yes. Which actually affects ghosts, unlike things like fire." Morro smirked.

"Kai almost beat me in the tomb with fire."

"Well, yes, but… not directly. He tricked you." Lloyd sighed. "Just… please come."

"Not until you admit you don't want me for my contribution to the team.

"What- what do you-"

"I know the ninja can do perfectly well without me. You don't want me to help, you know as well as I do that they don't trust me anyway. Why _are_ you trying to get me to come?" Lloyd hesitated, then sighed.

"Alright, fine, I… I wanted to keep an eye on you." Morro bristled.

"You don't trust me?"

"No, no, of course I trust you! I didn't mean it like that!" The blond put up his hands to calm him. "I meant… the last time I left you alone and unguarded, Mira tried to murder you. The time before, Charlie attacked you. The time before that, my Morro beat you. I want to keep you safe."

"By bringing me to the Cursed Realm?"

"Better than someone killing you while we're gone! If you come with us, you'll be with a large group, but if someone kills you, you'll appear somewhere, alone. The Preeminent will track you down, and you'll be captured, and it could be forever before we can get you back. With us, you'll be safer." Morro hesitated.

"But… Harry and Nico are staying. Couldn't I stay with them?"

"Can we really trust them?" Lloyd asked in a low voice. "After Mira?" The ghost hesitated again, then sighed.

"I… I guess you're right. I'll come."

"Thank you." Lloyd smiled, but his expression faltered as Morro stared dejectedly at the bed. "Look, I just want what's best for you. I don't want to leave you here, it's not safe. I won't be able to go knowing you're here unprotected."

"Then stay." Morro pleaded. "Stay with me." Lloyd smiled a bit, shaking his head.

"They need me." The former king sighed. He was right about that, at least.

"Okay. When do we leave?"

"Very soon. Come on." Lloyd beckoned him out of bed, and the ghost sat up, hugging his arms to his chest as he stood.

"How are they gonna react to me?" The wind master asked softly as Lloyd took his arm and lead him towards the door. "Most of them still see me as an enemy."

"It'll be fine." The blond promised, leading him out into the hall. "They won't do anything to you."

"That's not what I'm afraid of." The ghost mumbled, but Lloyd didn't have a chance to respond as they entered the meeting room. Immediately, all eyes were on him, and he stared at the floor, stepping behind Lloyd as heat rose in his cheeks.

"Why is _he_ here?" Jay B demanded.

"He's coming with us." Lloyd replied coolly.

"What?" Cole A exclaimed. "No way!"

"Yes way." The blond folded his arms, unfazed. "I need to be able to keep an eye on him. If we leave him here, there could be more attempts to kill him."

"And why is that a bad thing?" The blue ninja folded his arms.

"Because, Jay, if he is evil, killing him will send him back to the Cursed Realm and free him. And if he's _not_ evil, it's not fair to leave him vulnerable." Lloyd snapped. "Use your brain." Jay made a sound like a strangled turkey.

"Did you just- did he just tell me to-"

"At least chain him, then." Cole interrupted. "If you think I'm going anywhere with _him_ running around free…" Morro hunched his shoulders, covering his face with his hands as he tried to make himself less visible.

"Then you can stay." Lloyd said firmly. "Because if we're attacked, he needs to be able to defend himself. And before you spout some nonsense about how he's secretly plotting to kill us all, Bansha went to all the trouble to have Reena send Mira to kill him. That was in no way a faked attempted murder. He's on our side." Cole groaned, but fell silent. "Anyone else?" Silence. "Good." Morro heard soft footsteps, then a hand touched his arm, and he peeked out from behind his hands to see Nicole looking up at him in concern.

"Are you okay?" She whispered. He nodded, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm fine." He mumbled. She pulled her hand away, smiling a bit.

"Alright, now that that's straightened out…" Kai B spoke up, holding up the Realm Crystal. "Let's get this show on the road." The others backed away as Kai held out the Crystal, creating a large, swirling portal in the middle of the rom. Morro backed away a bit further as the others began to file through. He really, _really_ didn't want to go back to the Cursed Realm. He didn't have a choice, however, as Lloyd grabbed him by the arm and lead him towards it.

"You'll be fine." The blond assured him one more time. The ghost swallowed, then nodded nervously. Together, the two jumped through the portal and into the Cursed Realm.

* * *

 **Warning: The next chapter contains pain**

 **just a head's up**

 **:)**

 **~FFF**


	51. Chapter 51

**I had literally the best dream last night and I'm still in shock so there's probably some typing errors in this just fyi**

 **Review replies:**

 **Kat: OH YES I CAN**

 **Ebony: Pfft yes. And yeah, that's a perfectly reasonable guess. :) Oh of course I'm capable of making it worse. I can, and I will. No spoiler. And yes. Absolutely.**

 **Nicktastic: *wiggles eyebrows***

 **Monile: *sweats nervously***

 **NinjagoMLP: When am I not planning something sinister?**

 **Windy: Same. That's why I write them! :D**

 **Jayden: *lenny face***

* * *

The first thing Morro 2 did when he entered the Cursed Realm was collapse.

"Morro!" Lloyd exclaimed in alarm as the ghost's knees buckled and he thudded to the ground. The others looked over in surprise as the former king groaned, clutching his head. "What happened? What's going on?" The blond dropped to his knees next to him, grabbing his shoulder.

"P… Preeminent…" The wind master choked out. "Her presense is… s-so strong here…"

"I mean, we're basically _inside her_." Jay 1 pointed out flatly. Lloyd glared at him.

"Is she hurting you?" He asked, turning back to Morro.

"Y-yeah… this is why I d-didn't want to c-come…"

"Um, we have another problem." Cole 2 called over. The blond boy looked up to see that his Morro was having a similar reaction, curled up in the ground with his hands on his head. Indigo was next to him, watching him with wide eyes. She didn't seem to be affected.

"What's going on?" She asked in alarm.

"The… the Preeminent rejected me, and since we're connected, her presence has a negative effect on me…" Morro 2 hissed through clenched teeth.

"It must be working on Morro, uh… B too, since you have the same… presence?" Lila reasoned. Morro 2 managed a stiff nod.

"S-something like that."

"Well we have to do something. If you two are in too much pain to move, we'll have to…" Lloyd trailed off as Morro stopped shaking, then blinked his eyes open, sitting up. A quick glance up revealed that his Morro was sitting up as well, looking around.

"Her presence faded." Morro 2 spoke up. "The pain is… less. Her consciousness is elsewhere. As long as she's focusing on something else, we won't be hurt like that. Let's go." Lloyd stood up, offering the former king a hand. As it was accepted, the blond glanced around, trying to get his bearings. They were in one of the tunnels leading to his father's prison. He felt almost like he had gone back in time.

"It's this way." Kai 1 said, taking the lead and heading down the tunnel to their right. Lloyd's double followed close behind, by himself. His leg had finally healed enough for him to walk without crutches. He still hobbled a bit, but his prosthetic wasn't perfect, so that couldn't be helped. The rest of the group soon followed, Morro 2 trailing a few feet behind the rest. Lloyd started to slow down and join him, but a hand grabbed his arm, and he looked up in surprise as Morro 1 dragged him over to the wall.

"Lloyd, remember when you accused me of being jealous?" he asked in a low voice.

"Uh… yeah?"

"Well, I am. Can you please make some time for me? You've hardly left _his_ side in days." There was an unmistakable note of disgust in his voice as he nodded towards his double, but it softened again as he said, "Please?"

"Oh. I will, I promise." Lloyd nodded. "But not right now. The other you is… he's pretty scared. Of you and the others as well as just this place." Morro sighed.

"Okay, that's fair. Just don't forget, okay?"

"I won't, I promise." The blond started to go back towards Morro 2, but paused. "You know, if you two could get along, I could spend time with both of you at once." Morro 1 huffed.

"I don't think so. I don't like him, and you said yourself he's scared of me."

"Then do something nice for him. Stand up for him when the others are being jerks to him." Lloyd sighed. "Morro, I think you need to stop viewing him as just another you. He's not just what you would have been if you had won, not just you if your darkest dreams had been realized. He's a different person. He might have had the same beginning, but his life wasn't the same, starting way before he took over the world. This timeline has never been exactly the same as ours, something different drove him to victory.

"You need to stop viewing him as a bad memory, and view him as a person." Morro opened his mouth to speak, but the blond went on. "I know he did some horrible things, but so did you. And you changed. When I first brought you to the Monastery, you were shy and confused. Wouldn't you have liked it if someone had stood up for you?" The ghost gave him a slow nod. "Right. And this Morro has it worse. Most of us openly hate him.

"If you stand up for him, you will send a message to the others that maybe he's not so bad. I don't think any of them trust my judgement anymore. And you would get him to start trusting you." Morro was silent for a moment, staring at the floor. Finally, he sighed.

"Alright, I'll try."

"Thank you." Lloyd gave him a relieved smile. "Now, we've fallen behind. Let's go catch up."

"Right." The two sped up, hurrying after the rest of the group. They caught up just as the others entered the room with Chen and Clouse, Kai 1 just reaching them.

"The ninja? What are you all doing here?" Chen asked in surprise. Lloyd 2 ignored him, going up to Clouse and folding his arms.

"You know a spell to free my father." He said bluntly. "Perform it, and we'll set you free." Clouse sneered at him.

"You really think I'll free him, after all the trouble I took to get him trapped here? I think not, boy."

"Well, if you don't, we'll kill you." Lloyd drew his sword. "Slowly and painfully. And then you'll turn into a ghost, and you can still free him. So we'll just kill you over and over again until you do as we-"

"Alright, alright, fine." The sorcerer interrupted. "I'll do it."

"Good." With a couple swings of the deepstone sword, Lloyd send the bars of his cage clattering to the ground. Clouse climbed out of the cage, and the Coles promptly grabbed his wrists. The magician looked back and forth at them, then frowned.

"Wait, why are there two of you?"

"Long story. We'll explain back in Ninjago." Lloyd 2 headed down the tunnel, sheathing his sword again. "And don't try any funny business, we outnumber you 20 to 1." The blond said over his shoulder. "We'll slice your fingers off before you can say 'hocus-" The green ninja cut off abruptly, stopping in his tracks as he looked down at the path ahead of him. Speeding up to a run, Lloyd 1 hurried to catch up and saw what he saw: A grey-haired figure suspended between two poles by chains attached to his wrists. "Dad?" His double whispered. A moment later, he broke into a run, nearly stumbling as he ran down the hill. "DAD!" His father looked up in shock at his voice.

" _Lloyd?_ " His son fairly tackled him when he reached the bottom of the hill, wrapping his arms tight around his chest. "Lloyd, I… I thought you were dead! After Morro took over…" The elderly man trailed off, looking over Lloyd's shoulder to see both Morros descending the hill. "What in Ninjago…"

"It's complicated." Lloyd 2 shook his head as he pulled away, grinning. "Some of them are from another timeline. One of the Morros is on our side, the other…" the blond shot a nasty glance at Morro 2. "…is a prisoner."

"I… see." Lloyd's father's double caught sight of him and his dad. "I see there's another one of both of us."

"Yeah. They rescued you a long time ago in their world. That's how they know what to do."

"Which is?"

"Clouse knows a spell to release you." Lloyd 2 stepped back and glared at the sorcerer. "Well?"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming…" Clouse muttered, walking up to Garmadon and pushing Lloyd 2 aside. "Don't get in the way, boy. I can't have you interfering." The blond bristled, but didn't protest, backing away. The sorcerer walked around Garmadon a couple of times, inspecting his chains, before stopping in front of him and beginning to chant. His hands began to glow purple, Garmadon 2's chains following suit a moment later. Lloyd felt a twinge of nervousness, like he had when it was his father being released. Clouse raised his voice, and Lloyd 2's father groaned, his head slumping forward onto his chest. Lloyd 2 stepped towards him in alarm, but Kai 1 quickly grabbed his shoulder.

"This is supposed to happen." He whispered. After a few more, tense seconds, the sorcerer thrust both hands forward, and the room flashed white, Garmadon 2 being thrown backwards as his chains shattered.

"Dad!" Lloyd 2 hurried forward, shoving Clouse aside before kneeling next to the elderly man on the ground. "Are you okay?" His father lifted his head, giving him a tired smile.

"I'm better than okay." He said softly. "I'm free." Lloyd 2 returned the smile, pulling him into a tight hug.

Abruptly, the cavern shook, and everyone looked around in alarm. Then there was a cry, and Lloyd whirled around to see Morro 2 collapse.

"Th-the Preeminent…" He gasped. "Sh-she's not happy…"

"What does that mean?" Morro 1 remanded.

"Sh-she's gonna… c-collapse the tunnel!" He scrambled to his feet, but promptly stumbled to the ground again. "W-we have to get out!" There was another tremor, and this time, a loud cracking sound came from directly above Lloyd 2 and his father.

"Lloyd, Garmadon, get back!" Morro 1 shouted. Lloyd's double scrambled to his feet, tugging his father up with him. The elderly man tried to keep his footing, but was too weak and fell to his knees. Morro 1 ran over to help, but the ground shook under him and he stumbled a few feet away. Lloyd 2 lost his grip on his father as well, crying out as he stumbled back. Right above Garmadon 2, a huge rock started to come loose.

"DAD!" Lloyd 2 screamed, stepping towards him. Unfortunately, his prosthetic leg chose that moment to snap, sending the blond boy sprawling on the ground.

"Someone _help them!_ " Dyana yelled, and Morro 1 dashed forward, grabbing Lloyd 2 and pulling him out of harm's way. He turned back to get Garmadon, but suddenly froze, gasping and falling to his knees. The Preeminent. Before anyone could do anything, the huge rock came loose, and Lloyd could only watch in horror as it fell towards the helpless man on the ground.

Thud.

* * *

 **You know they'll be fine.**

 **Aaaanyway, I'm going to get back to dreading my class this afternoon. Toodles.**

 **~FFF**


	52. Chapter 52

**me: *murders garmadon***

 **me: *vanishes into the abyss for a few days while I watch you suffer***

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: hehe xd**

 **Chan: hehe xd**

 **NinjagoMLP: hehe xd**

 **Monile: hehe xd**

 **Samantha: hehe xd**

 **Zena: hehe xd (I already spoiled this chapter for you lol)**

 **Ronin1234: Nadakhan has not appeared in this book, though he had a large role in the previous book. And I do plan to write a/some oneshot/s about Nadakhan sometime soon, I just haven't gotten around to it. I will likely take your suggestion in your review on the oneshots story, since it has angst and everyone knows that's my specialty ;P**

 **Guest who reviewed on the oneshots: Yes, I can do that, but can you specify when? Like, before or after Morro repents?**

* * *

"Dad." Lloyd whispered in horror as the rocks settled. There- there was no way he could have survived that. Could he? No. He- he was dead. Or at least a ghost like Kai. But was he? Or was he dead for good? Tears began to well up in his eyes as he tried to get to his feet, but he crumpled to the side. Right. No leg. As the tears began to trickle down his face, the rocks shifted, and the blond looked up in shock as the huge rock lifted. His father appeared underneath it, lifting it up with apparent ease and tossing it behind him. Wh- how? He could barely walk the last time he saw him!

Wait. That was the other Garmadon.

"Dad!" Lloyd B yelled, and the grey-haired man grinned, putting one hand on his hip as his double propped himself up on his arms on the ground behind him. He looked unhurt. But- how? How did Garmadon even get under there? "How did you move so fast?" His double asked, hurrying forwards.

"Comes with the invincibility, I suppose." His father's double shrugged, then turned his father's double to his feet. "Someone help Lloyd. He won't be able to walk for a while." Kai B hurried over and pulled him upright, putting an arm around his back to hold him up as he balanced on one foot.

"I- I owe me my life, apparently." His father spoke, clutching his double's arm for support and favoring his left leg. Garmadon B chuckled.

"I suppose you do."

"Come on, guys, let's get out of here." Jay B called over, holding up the Realm Crystal. "Before the Preeminent _really_ crushes one of us." Lloyd glanced at his father, wanting to see if he was completely okay, but he figured it could wait until they were back in Ninjago. Kai B helped the blond over to the rest of the group, half carrying him due to his missing leg. Garmadon B helped his father over, supporting him in much the same way as Kai was supporting Lloyd. "Ready?" Jay held out the Crystal in front of him, and it began to glow.

…then it stopped.

"Huh?" Lloyd said in confusion. "What'd you do?"

"I – nothing." Jay said with a frown. "It's not working."

"Let me try." Kai A grabbed it, holding it up. The crystal flickered with light for a moment, then dimmed again.

"Oh no." Morro A snacked his hand against his forehead.

"What? Do you know what's wrong?" Dyana gave him a suspicious look. "Did you do something?"

"No, no… the Realm Crystal runs on sunlight." The ghost explained. "It must have been too long since the last time it was exposed to sunlight."

"Then let's just go outside." Jay B suggested.

"No, the… the Cursed Realm doesn't have a sun. The light is just from an ambient source. The light here won't help it. We're…" The wind master deflated a bit. "…we're trapped."

"No." Morro B spoke up. "The portal."

"The what?" Lloyd frowned.

"But that's all the way on the other side of the Cursed Realm." His double frowned, apparently not hearing him.

"We have dragons. We can make it."

"Wait, what portal?" Lloyd broke in.

"There's a portal in the peak of a mountain on the other side of the Cursed Realm that leads to Ninjago." Indigo explained. "That's how we got in and out in our universe."

"Oh."

"Where does it end up?" Zane A asked.

"Inside a volcano called Mount Vetruvius."

"An… active volcano?"

"Yeah… but it's only erupting some of the time."

"That's comforting. But I suppose we have no other choice." Zane glanced at his double. "How long will it take to get there?"

"On dragons, probably about 24 hours if we're not bothered." The other nindroid replied. "Not counting breaks."

"I see." Zane glanced around at the others. "Who doesn't have a dragon?" Lila, Jessica, and Nicole raised their hands, and Morro A spoke up hesitantly.

"I don't think I'll be able to form my dragon, I'm too scared."

"And I'm too weak." Lloyd's father added.

"If the Preeminent comes near us again, I won't be able to keep my dragon formed." Morro B said quietly.

"Okay. Morro 1, ride with Indigo. Morro 2, ride with Lloyd 1. Lloyd 2, will losing a leg impair your ability to fly?" Jay B asked, turned to him. The blond frowned.

"I'm… not sure."

"Hmm. You can ride with one of the Kais, just to be safe."

"I'm afraid I'd drop him." Kai A shook his head. "Still not used to being a ghost."

"Okay. Kai 1, he can ride with you. Jessica, you can ride with Gin. Lila-" Jay was interrupted by Lloyd's father.

"Wait, Gin! We need to wait for her!" He exclaimed. There was confused silence for a moment before Garmadon B spoke.

"Oh, of course! Gin, your double will still be here!"

"Oh yeah." Gin blinked. "When did you last see her?" She asked, turning to Lloyd's father.

"This morning. I doubt she'll be back until late."

"Well, we don't have time to wait around. We have to get out of here."

"But we can't just leave her!" His father insisted, clearly worried.

"How about we send some people out to look for her?" Lila suggested. "It can't be that hard to find a human girl in a realm of ghosts." Dad shook his head.

"She's very stealthy. How do you think she survived this long here?"

"Well… I don't know, then."

"Let's get out of this mountain for now." Cole B spoke. "Get to the entrance, so we can't be snuck up on or have a mountain dropped on us."

"Wait." Clouse spoke up. "What are you going to do with me?"

"Take you back to Ninjago. Unless you want to be set free here." Cole raised an eyebrow.

"No thank you. And Chen?"

"Hmm…" Cole and Kai B exchanged glances. "The last time we did that…"

"…he helped the Overlord try to take over the world." Kai finished. "I think we should bring him back and lock him up."

"But both cells are full."

"We can build another. Or put Mira and Charlie together."

"I guess. Even if we leave him, he'll eventually die of starvation and become a ghost. Then he'll be able to get out. Better to grab him now." The earth ninja nodded.

"Then let's go. Garmadon 2, can you walk or should someone carry you?"

"Me?" Lloyd's father asked. Cole nodded. "I… I can walk for now. Not by myself, but… I do not need to be carried."

"Okay. You can ride with Garmadon 1 on his dragon. Lloyd 2, I think you'll get tired pretty fast hopping on one foot. You might as well let Kai carry you."

"Okay." Lloyd let Kai scoop him up, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"Now let's get moving. The sooner we get out from where the Preeminent can crush us at a whim, the better." Jay B waved them down the tunnel, and the group began to head down the tunnel, lead by the Coles and Zanes.

After about an hour, in which they only got lost once and had to kill a few wandering ghosts, the group made it to the exit of the mountain. As soon as a stone bridge came into view, Lloyd heard Indigo say,

"Whoa." And run ahead in front of the group. Morro B quickly ran after her, like a parent trying to keep his child from running into traffic.

"Indigo, be careful." He cautioned as she stopped by the edge.

"I know, I'm careful." She ran her hand along the rocks that bordered the bridge. Lloyd frowned. What was so interesting about a bridge?

"…what's the significance of the bridge?" Cole A asked, apparently having the same thought.

"Oh. This is where I died." Indigo replied offhandedly.

"Uh… how?"

"The bridge collapsed." She took a step onto it, and Morro quickly grabbed her shoulder. "Morro, I'm a ghost. I don't weigh anything. Plus, I have a dragon."

"I know, I know, but… I watched you die here once, I'd rather not do it again."

"Don't worry, you won't." She kissed his cheek before turning back to glance to the rest of the group. "So yeah, we should fly over this."

"Sounds good." Kai A nodded.

"But what about Gin?" Lloyd's father asked.

"We'll wait for her on the other side. There's another bridge, so we might miss her if we wait for her here." Jay B replied. "Let's go."

"Hang on. Nicole and I still don't have seating arrangements." Lila broke in.

"Uhh… you can ride with whoever, I guess. Unless there's someone in particular you want to ride with."

"Dyana." Lila said instantly.

"Okay. Nicole, you can ride with me if you want."

"Sure."

"Great. Let's mount up. We've got a lot of ground to cover if we want to get out of here anytime soon."

"But not before we find Gin." Lloyd's father added.

"Right. Of course not." Jay nodded. "We'll send out some people to look for her, and if that doesn't work, we'll make camp and wait for her to come back." Lloyd's father nodded.

"Good." Jay B summoned his dragon.

"Now let's go. I'd rather not have a mountain dropped on me again."

"I concur." Dad agreed, and the group mounted their respective dragons, taking off once they were all ready. Lloyd clung to Kai tightly from where he sat behind him on his dragon, feeling less secure with most of one leg missing. Resting his chin on the fire ninja's shoulder, he stared down into the abyss below him. Indigo said she had died when the bridge collapsed. She had fallen all that way… The blond shuddered, hiding his face in Kai's shoulder.

"You okay?" The brunette asked.

"Yeah." Lloyd lifted his head so his voice wouldn't be muffled. "Just imagining how Indigo died."

"Heh. Yeah. That whole thing was pretty bad." Kai shook his head. "The bridge started to go, and we all started running… someone fell, maybe Jay, and Lloyd had- I mean, the other Lloyd – had to fly down and save him. Indigo couldn't run fast enough, so Morro picked her up, but then he fell behind, and he dropped her, and he fell after her trying to save her."

"Why didn't he just use his dragon?"

"He couldn't use it for more than a few seconds. None of us could."

"Why?"

"It's a really long story." Kai glanced down as the dragons began to descend. "Oh, I guess we won't be waiting around for nearly as long as we'd thought." Lloyd looked down as they landed to see a young girl, maybe 11 or 12, standing at the top of the staircase with her arms folded.

"This," She said as they landed. "Is _definitely_ not how I left this place this morning."

* * *

 **pedition to replace Superman with garmadon**

 **~FFF**


	53. Chapter 53

**SKIRMISHES MIGHT BE OUR ONLY HOPE**

 **I GOT THE MOVES**

 **SO I WON'T LOSE**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: *photoshops Garmadon's head on superman***

 **Zena: Not as much angst as there was good things happening.**

 **Entity: MAKE MY DAD A SUPERHERO- xD No I haven't read that. I'm told it's good though.**

 **Monile: HAHA no.**

 **Kat: We'll be getting some more doubles in just a few chapters xd**

 **Windy: Haha of course not. They have to go all the way across the Cursed Realm. There's no way that's going smoothly xd**

 **Jayden: xd**

* * *

"I have to say," Lloyd B remarked as the group set up camp. "This trip into the Cursed Realm has been way less eventful than our last one."

"We're almost been killed twice already." Kai A pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Only twice. And only one of those actually came close to doing damage." Kai shook his head.

"And I thought our lives were dangerous. You'll have to tell me about that trip sometime."

"I'll be sure to do that." The Ninja, after giving Gin A a quick explanation of their situation, were forced to flee as the Preeminent collapsed the stairway and the bit of mountain they were standing on, which honestly didn't do much since they just flew away. The flock of dragons had flown until past nightfall before landing in a forest, making camp in a clearing. Most of them were too tired to fly any longer. Lloyd still had to be carried wherever he went, which was annoying. Hopefully they would get home tomorrow and they could make him a new leg.

Clouse and Chen were chained to a tree at the edge of the camp, since none of the ninja trusted them not to attack them or run away. They had gone back to get Chen after the mountain had collapsed and Clouse reminded them, then chained them both up and had them fly with the Zanes.

They hadn't lit a fire in their camp, passing out dried meat, fruits, and crackers instead. Sensei had fortunately had the foresight to have them pack a little food even though they didn't expect to be gone long. Their meager supplies wouldn't last them much longer, though. They better get back tomorrow.

"Remember that talking food machine?" Jay B said in a faraway voice. "That thing was wild."

"Yeah. I wonder where she is now." Indigo nodded.

"Probably with her inventor." Kai B shrugged, staring up at the stars through the ever-present green fog.

"Probably." Indigo agreed. Nicole frowned.

"I feel left out."

"It's a really long story." The ghost girl waved her off. "We'll explain it to you sometime."

"Well, why not now?"

"Well…" Indigo paused. "Good point. Why don't we just tell them now?"

"Some of us are asleep." Cole A pointed out, gesturing to Andreea, Morro A, and Garmadon B.

"Well, Dad already knows, I can tell Morro later, and Andreea already knows some of it true." Lloyd's double countered. "We might as well tell the tale, we've got nothing else to do. Everyone gather around." The group moved closer to Lloyd B, Lloyd A trying and failing to do the same. He had to tug on Kai's sleeve to get him to move him close.

Over the next hour, Lloyd B told them everything. Everything that had happened in his world, from the time they defeated Morro to the time they jumped to their timeline. He told them about Morro's redemption, their journey through the volcano, Tara and Ming, their imprisonment, and the bridge falling. He told them about their mad chase across the Cursed Realm, their meeting Andreea, their battle with the ghosts they almost lost, and Tara saving them. About Garmadon's freedom, then their escape from the volcano as it erupted.

He told them about Chen and Soul Archer joining with the Overlord. About Kai's infection and the golden armor curing it, Morro's capture, and Tori. About his near-fatal fall onto the island, his capture, and his freedom. About Nadakhan, and his wish to make his father invincible. About the shadelings, Bansha switching sides, and the Guardian of the Cursed Realm. He got really self-conscious when he told them about how he ran away. He told them about how Chen convinced the good guys he was dead, and Nadakhan helping them rescue him. He told them about the final battle, and trapping the Overlord in the void.

By the end, most of them were starting to nod off. Indigo and her Morro had fallen asleep in the middle of it, and one of the Nyas had dropped off to sleep as well. When Lloyd B finished, Lloyd A crawled a little farther away, lying down and starting to doze off as the others asked his double some questions about his tale.

"Son?" Lloyd blinked, lifting his head at the voice beside him. His father was sitting a few feet away, looking a bit worried. "I'm sorry to disturb your sleep, but… you said one… one of the 'Morros' was a prisoner, but… which one?"

"Uhh…" Lloyd pushed himself up a bit to locate Morro A. "The one behind the other me."

"But he's not chained. Neither one is." His father frowned, confused.

"Well… technically he's our prisoner. But the other me likes him. He's _convinced_ he's changed." Lloyd's voice took on a bitter note. "He spends his time either with him, or arguing on his behalf. Look!" He gestured at the ghost across the camp, who his double had laid down behind and was now hugging him around the waist.

"I take it you don't agree." His father raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not. He _chopped off my leg_."

"Oh. I was wondering what happened there."

"Yeah." He hesitated. "I guess I should tell you what happened since you were last here."

"Mmm." Dad nodded.

"Well… after you got banished, Morro got out somehow. He used to be Sensei's student, but he discovered he wasn't the green ninja, and-"

"I know who he is." His father said quietly. Lloyd paused.

"Did he tell you?"

"Yes… a long time ago."

"Wait… what?" Did he mean near the beginning of his banishment…? Dad sighed.

"Long ago, I… I met him when I he was a young man. I… was the one who banished him." Lloyd's eyes shot wide open.

"W-what?"

"It's… it's a long story."

"It's been a night for long stories. Tell me."

"Very well." Dad hesitated, then began his tale. "I worked under Chen at the time. He gave me the staff of elements, and sent me out to steal elemental powers. I had the Devourer's venom in my blood, so… I did it." He self-consciously brushed a lock of his shoulder-length hair behind his ear. "I met Morro in the city. The green in his hair reminded me of a previous wind master I had met, likely his father, so I approached him.

"He told me was trying to find the tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master, to prove himself as the Green Ninja. I… I knew the prophecy of the green ninja. I thought I was the dark lord, destined to be defeated. So… I lead him to his death." Lloyd stared at him in shocked silence, and his father continued.

"I told him I knew where the tomb was, and I lead him to the Caves of Despair. There, I knocked him out and stole his element. He and I fought, and he nearly beat me, but I cursed him, stalling him long enough for my to seal off the chamber and leave him to die." The blond just stared at him for a few moments.

"Too bad you had to curse him." He said at last. "Then we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Nor would we if I didn't kill him."

"He would've found a way to ruin things." Lloyd lay down again, rolling over to face the trees. His father sighed.

"You really hate him."

"Yes I do."

"And I understand that, but… Lloyd, you need to forgive him. If you leave this anger and hatred unchecked, it will destroy you."

"As long as I take Morro down with me, I'm fine with that."

"Lloyd-"

"Dad. I'm not going to forgive him. He's done so much to me, you don't have any idea."

"He hurt you, I know. But-"

"He _killed Mom_." The blond hissed. That shut him up. There was silence for a few moments, then his father said in a wavering voice,

"Misako… dead?"

"Yes." The blond mumbled. "Morro… he drowned her. He executed her. He wanted everyone to know how ruthless he was. So he kidnapped her, tied a weight around her neck, and threw her into the sea. On live TV. We couldn't do anything. We could only watch." His father was silent. "Her body washed up on shore a few days later. We buried her near your Monastery." He felt tears welling up in his eyes, but he angrily blinked them back. "That's why Morro needs to suffer. Why I have to hurt him, like he's hurt so many people. Actions have consequences." He rolled over, glaring daggers at the sleeping ghost on the other side of the camp, who seemed to huddle a bit closer to the other Lloyd under his gaze.

"Do you think your mother would want her memory to inspire hatred?" His father asked softly. Lloyd frowned.

"I don't know. It's _Morro_. He _killed_ her."

"I know he did. But your mother was a kind and gentle soul. She did not hate even those who wronged her."

"But he-!"

"I know, Morro has done so many horrible things. But everyone is worthy of forgiveness. Even him.

"But I can't!"

"'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'." His father quoted. "Philippians 4:13, I believe." Lloyd huffed.

"Fine. I just don't _want_ to forgive him."

"When does anyone want to forgive one who has wronged them? Forgiveness is hard, I know. But it is important."

"Fine. I'll think about it." The blond lied, rolling over to face the tress again. He wasn't going to think about it, he just wanted to get Dad off his back so he could sleep. Closing his eyes, the exhausted ninja soon nodded off.

He didn't notice Nicole sitting quietly nearby, listening to their entire conversation.

* * *

 **Well she clearly has something up her sleeve**

 **and yes I killed someone off for good are you proud of me xd**

 **AND ONE MORE THING: Garmadon has been in the Cursed Realm for over a year now**

 **so he has long hair**

 **xd**

 **~FFF**


	54. Chapter 54

**YALL BELIEVE ME I WORKED MY TAIL OFF GETTING THIS CHAPTER OUT TODAY**

 **I HOPE YOU APPRECIATE THIS**

 **Review replies:**

 **Loki God of Evil: Which Lloyd... isn't. He has issues. And those issues are gonna hit him pretty hard pretty soon xd**

 **Monile: LOL yeah. I love him too.**

 **Draconis: THAT WOULD BE SO WILD-** **just... copy/paste the entire first 2 books in. The whole series. Wow. Yep yep yep poor Misako. I don't like her much in canon, but I like my version of her so xd**

 **Ebony: Garmadon's not... calm. He's hiding his emotions until after Lloyd fell asleep. I'll let you interpret that however you like.**

 **Nicktastic: xd**

 **Windy: Nicole will now proceed to use her powers to further her own gain. xd**

 **Emobilcipher: Nahhhh. She's just gonna use her powers to influence certain people's opinions of each other. also YEAH HYPE**

* * *

"87 bottles of tea on the wall! 87 bottles of tea!" Half the group sang. "You take one down and pass it around, there's 86 bottles of tea on the wall! 86 bottles of tea on the wall! 86 bottles of tea!" The group had woken up about mid-morning, and had started off again in high spirits. Since the dragons were flying a ways away from each other, so they wouldn't collide, all the singers had to yell the lyrics of the song in order to be heard, which only added to the hilarity of it all.

Lloyd had wanted to sing along, but Morro 2, sitting behind him, looked uncomfortable, so he settled for humming along instead. After a while, he noticed the ghost being quiet. He was always quiet, of course, but he was being even quieter than normal. Ceasing to hum, Lloyd dropped to the back of the pack, looking over his shoulder to ask,

"Are you okay?" Morro looked up, and there was guilt on his face as he met his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He nodded a bit, looking down.

"Are you sure?" The blond pressed. "You looked guilty." A flicker of alarm crossed the ghost's face, and he hunched his shoulders a bit.

"I-I'm fine, really."

"Your tone and body language say otherwise." Morro's grip on him loosened a bit.

"I… you're right, I'm sorry." He hesitated, then said, "I… had a bad dream."

"Oh. What was it about?"

"I'd rather not say."

"That bad?"

"Y-yeah."

"All the more reason to tell me."

"No!" Morro exclaimed in alarm. Lloyd's frown deepened. That was a strong reaction.

"Are you hiding something from me?"

"I- n-no, I-I'm not…"

"You sound panicked."

"I'm not!"

"Morro, you're a terrible liar." The ghost hunched up a bit more.

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Y-you'll hate me."

"Why would I hate you because of a dream?"

"It… it was a memory. Of something I did."

"Morro, you've tried to kill me and possess me, and tortured my dad and my best friend. How bad could this be that I would hate you, after I've forgiven you for all that?" Morro removed his arms from around his waist, covering his face.

"I killed her." He whispered.

"Who?"

"I killed your mother." Lloyd's eyes widened. He- really? It… it made sense. He had noticed that there wasn't a Misako in this world, but he had always assumed she was somewhere else, safe. "It… it was at the beginning of my reign." The ghost mumbled. "I needed an example. To show the world I was ruthless and I took no prisoners. I… I kidnapped her and killed her, I'm sorry…" Lloyd was silent for a moment, and Morro whispered, "I told you you would hate me."

"I don't hate you." Lloyd reached back and grabbed his arm, tugging it away from his face. "You need to hold onto me." He said as the ghost resisted. After a moment, the former tyrant relented, wrapping his arms around his waist again. "I'm not mad. Sad, but not angry. You're clearly upset and ashamed of yourself, so I forgive you." Morro sniffled, and Lloyd realized he was crying.

"R-really?"

"Really." Lloyd lifted one hand from the reins and laid it on the ghost's clasped hands. "It's okay." The wind master sniffled again, then leaned forward to rest his forehead on the blond's shoulder.

"O-okay." They flew in silence for a while, listening to the others sing. Abruptly, Morro shot upright, yelling,

"LOOK OUT!" Lloyd looked up just in time to see an arrow flying towards his head, and jerked his dragon down just in time for it to whiz over him. "It's coming back!" Morro yelped. "You have to get rid of it!" Hearing it approach once more, Lloyd charged a ball of energy and threw it, knocking the possessed arrow out of the sky.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" He yelled, flying faster to catch up with the others. He heard shouts of alarm as another arrow streaked towards them, and Nya 2 took this one out.

"We can't just fly away!" Morro 2 shouted as Lloyd flew into the middle of the group. "The arrows will home in on us! We have to fight!"

"Any advice from you isn't to be trusted!" Lloyd 2 snapped back.

"No, he's right." Lloyd yelled. "We have to get rid of them!" The blond leaned over to try and catch a glimpse of their attackers, and spotted a group of ghosts with bows chasing them from below. "Nyas, come with me!" The blond yelled, then, in a lower voice, said, "Morro, don't fall off." The ghost tightened his grip on Lloyd's waist as the green dragon dove towards their attackers.

Lloyd lifted one hand, charging a ball of energy and using it to deflect oncoming arrows. The pair of water masters followed him down, and the ghosts, seeing this, began to flee. Lloyd grinned as they closed in on them. There was no way they could outrun a dragon. Suddenly, the group of archers all turned around and fired, directly at him. Letting out a yelp of alarm, Lloyd banked hard to the right, but the arrows turned around and followed. He banked back to the left, but this time he slipped in the saddle and fell, his dragon vanishing. Oh no. He and Morro were still high up…

Frantically, he tried to recreate his dragon, but he was too panicked. Oh no. Abruptly, an arm wrapped around his waist and his fall slowed. He looked over his shoulder in surprise to see Morro 2 holding onto him, landing them both gently on the ground a few feet away from him a few feet away from the archers. Oh yeah. Wind powers.

"Thanks," The blond said breathlessly as the ghost let go of him. Morro nodded in reply, then spun around and sent the still-chasing arrows flying with a gust of wind. The archers immediately took aim again. Recovering from the fall, Lloyd attacked them, creating a pair of orbs of light and throwing them both into the group, knocking most of them down. The rest followed a moment later as Morro flung their arrows back at them, and the Nyas swooped down to finish them off. Soon, there was nothing left of them but a puddle of murky water.

"Well, that makes this trip a bit more interesting." Lloyd remarked, taking a moment to take a deep breath before summoning his dragon again.

"Are you okay?" Morro asked as he climbed up behind him.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Lloyd smiled as he took off. "I forgot you could fly there for a moment."

"Heh." Morro cracked a faint smile as they flew back up to rejoin the rest.

"Let's pick up the pace." The blond yelled as he neared the rest of the group. "Hopefully we can be out of here by nightfall." The others shouted back in agreement, and the whole group sped up a bit.

Then Zane 2 began to plummet.

There were shouts of alarm as the nindroid's dragon took a nosedive, and Lloyd quickly flew after it. As he got closer, he spotted Clouse, who was seated behind him, had his chains around the nindroid's neck. That shouldn't hurt a nindroid, but Zane looked like he was powered down. Wouldn't his dragon disappear then? What even was Clouse's plan? If they hit the ground at that speed, he would die!

Lloyd pulled alongside Zane's dragon, so they were almost wing to wing. What was he gonna do? He couldn't get close enough to get them off! Unless… Spinning upside-down, Lloyd flew over Zane and grabbed him off the dragon, Clouse coming with him. He was _heavy_. Shakily, Lloyd came out of the dive as Zane's dragon vanished, still holding the nindroid's wrist as he managed to land fairly smoothly.

Clouse untangled himself from Zane once they were on solid ground, then began to run.

"What are you _doing?_ " Lloyd yelled after him. "What good will it do to be free in the Cursed Realm? You'll just be caught!" Clouse ignored him, then stopped short as another band of archers emerged from the woods. To Lloyd's shock, instead of attacking Clouse, they came up to him and broke his chains. Then, to his even greater shock, his pale skin flickered and turned green, his body becoming transparent. He was a ghost.

"Wh- how?" Morro demanded.

"A mere illusion spell." Clouse smirked. "Unlike you, I am loyal to the Cursed Realm."

"Well, that's your mistake." Morro threw a gust of wind at him, trying to knock him down, but the older ghost held his ground. The sorcerer began to chant, moving his hands as he made to cast a spell. Lloyd charged a ball of energy to interrupt him, but one of the Coles got to him first, swooping towards him and leaping off of his dragon, hitting the ground fist-first and creating a tremor that knocked the magician clean off his feet.

Unfortunately, the spell he had been building flew out of his hands towards Lloyd, and the blond ducked, the red smoke flying over his head. It wasn't until he heard a cry from Morro that he realized who its next target would be. He turned to look over his shoulder with wide eyes, just in time to see the ghost go limp and slide off his dragon, falling a couple feet to the ground below.

"Morro!" The blond exclaimed, dematerializing his dragon and landing next to him as the ghost was consumed by the red smoke. He reached out to grab him, but the smoke burned his hand, and he pulled away with a gasp. After a few moments, the smoke cleared, revealing the unconscious ghost on the ground.

Except he wasn't a ghost.

He was a human.

* * *

 **47 BOTTLES OF TEA ON THE WALL, 47 BOTTLES OF T- why are you all looking at me like that**

 **(for clarification, turning morro human was a complete accident. Clouse did not intend that at all.)**

 **~FFF**


	55. Chapter 55

**Are yall proud of me for updating regularly xd**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: I wonder too... and if he dies in a cursed realm, he'll just turn back into a ghost xd I think the main problem is that he's going to keep walking into walls. + what is revealed at the end of this chapter... xd** **  
**

 **Nicktastic: Clouse totally played himself.**

 **NinjagoMLP: Not for me yet. I'm going to see it tomorrow evening. xd**

 **Entity: ...why slime tho xDD Like nice slime that people are wild over or yucky slime for dumping on Clouse?**

 **Emobilcipher: Well he's gonna have some problems with not being able to turn invisible/possess things/walk through walls, yeah. But he'll be able to use his wind powers fine, though he may have to adjust to like... having weight again. xd**

 **Windy: Here you go!**

 **Guest: No idea. I thought I was pretty sneaky about this xd also niiiiiiice**

* * *

Lloyd's mouth dropped open in shock as the smoke cleared, revealing Morro's transformation. He- he was human. Was he? Was it a trick, like Clouse's illusion? Hesitantly, the blond reached down and touched him, He definitely _felt_ human. He was solid, and his skin was warm. Was... was it permanent? He cast a shocked look at Clouse, who seemed equally surprised at what his unfinished spell had done. The archers stood there, stunned, for a few moments longer before remembering their job and drawing their bows to fire. Before any of the arrows flew, though, the entire group, including Clouse, vanished in a puff of smoke as one of the Nyas dumped a bunch of water on them.

"Whoa." Cole 1 said, running over. "Is he human?"

"I think so." Lloyd touched him again. "Feels like it."

"Wow." Cole sat down next to him. "Is he... like... okay?"

"Uhh…" The blond pressed a hand to Morro's chest. "His heart is beating, and he's breathing. I think he's just unconscious." Lloyd shook him gently. "Morro?" The black-haired boy groaned under his breath, then mumbled,

"Where 'm I? Why's it so cold?"

"Morro, wake up." Lloyd shook him again, and the wind master pried his eyes open, frowning up at him.

"What happened?" He asked. His voice was… it didn't have the reverb that ghosts' voices had. It sounded… normal, but off at the same time. "Lloyd?" He realized he was staring, and blinked.

"Uh, look at yourself." Morro lifted his head to look down at his body, then his eyes shot wide open.

"I'm- I'm human." He said in amazement. "But- but how? There's no way to un-curse a ghost…"

"Well… Clouse tried to cast a spell, but Cole interrupted him and the unfinished spell hit you. Apparently there is a way." Lloyd offered him a hand, and the dark-haired boy took it, letting him pull him up into a sitting position.

"I feel… cold. And tired. Ghosts don't feel those things as much." He frowned, staring down at his hands. "…and hungry."

"Yeah, we haven't eaten as much as usual because we don't have much with us. You'll get more when we're back to the base."

"Okay. Is it… warmer in Ninjago?"

"In general, yeah."

"Good. I'm freezing."

"You can have my jacket if you want." Nicole offered, and Lloyd looked up I surprise to see her standing behind him.

"Y-yeah, I'd like that." He nodded, blushing a bit, and the dream mistress took off her jacket, tossing it to the wind master on the ground. He nodded his thanks, putting it on. Looking around, Lloyd observed that the rest of the group had landed as well, and were watching him and Morro quietly. His double actually looked… pleased. Not a good pleased.

"Okay, but this is really good." Lloyd said, turning back to Morro 2. "You're human. The Preeminent can't get at you anymore." Morro perked up at that.

"You're right. She can't get in my head!"

"Yeah!" Lloyd stood, then offered Morro a hand up again. The boy let him pull him to his feet, then wavered a bit.

"There's… so many things I feel." He said quietly. "I'd forgotten how much… it's been more than forty years."

"Do you think you can manage a dragon?"

"I… don't think so, no."

"Alright, then you can ride on mine some more." Lloyd summoned his dragon again. "Let's mount up, everyone. We need to pick up the pace if we want to be in Ninjago by nightfall." The others complied, and Lloyd was about to climb onto his own dragon when he remembered Zane. "Hang on." The blond ran over to the powered-down nindroid, calling, "Jays, Nyas, come help me with Zane." One of each hurried over. Nya 2 frowned, opening up the back of Zane's head and pressing some buttons.

"Not sure what's wrong. For now, help me tie him onto the back of my dragon." Jay 2 and Lloyd helped secure the nindroid to her saddle before climbing onto their respective dragons and taking off.

It was afternoon by the time they spotted the mountain, and evening by the time they reached it. They took the same precautions as in their timeline to ensure no evil ghosts would get to it, collapsing the pathway up the mountain, before going through. It was then that they were faced with their first problem.

"Ahh, the vengestone room." Lloyd glanced around the dark room, lit only by the portal behind them. "I'd forgotten about this."

"Oh look, it's the pit I fell in." Indigo remarked, gesturing to the jagged pit that split the room in half.

"You seem to do that a lot." Kai 2 raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"So… how do we get across?" Jay 2 asked. "No powers."

"Well, last time, Jessica tied a rope to the rocks over it, and those who could swung across." Lloyd explained. "The others Cole threw over."

"Do we have a rope?"

"Uh…"

"Here's one." Nya 1 pulled one out of her pack. Jessica grabbed it, then scrambled up the wall with ease as Lloyd watched in admiration. Somehow managing to hang upside down, she tied the rope around a hook-like rock before climbing back down.

"Ta daaaa."

"Nice." Lloyd grinned. "Alright, who _can't_ swing across?"

"Not me." Gin 2 said.

"Or me, and I doubt my son can." Garmadon 2 added.

"I might be able to." Morro 2 sounded unsure, and still tired.

"Okay. Should we have you thrown across or would you rather swing across with someone?"

"I don't see why any of us would rather be thrown." Gin raised an eyebrow.

"Less chance of you being dropped into the pit of questionable depth."

"…okay then. I'll still go with swinging across."

"I don't care either way." Morro 2 said quietly, swaying a bit.

"Is much of the mountain like this? Vengestone?" Lloyd 2 asked.

"Not too much, but a couple important caverns are. Like this one, and then one filled with lava."

"That's… not great."

"No it's not." Lloyd glanced at the rope, then ran and jumped off the edge, grabbing it and swinging across. "It's strong."

"What are the odds that one of us is going to miss the rope and plummet to our doom?" Nicole asked.

"…not that high. Depends." Lloyd shrugged. "Alright, let's get moving. We're low on food, remember?" The others nodded, then started to cross. Jessica, being the foolish daredevil she was, opted to climb across the ceiling instead, which totally didn't stress Lloyd out at all. Okay, it did. _Why_. Otherwise it was fairly uneventful, most of the others crossing in safety. Lloyd's father slipped, much to his alarm, but Kai and Cole 1 caught him, pulling him back to safety. They made it past the room without incident, and started making their way through the tunnels again.

Fortunately, Zane 1 still had his map of the volcano from when they went through it in their world, so he lead them through with ease. They walked for about an hour before Morro 2 literally fell asleep on his feet, falling over in the middle of the path. He woke up when he hit the ground, of course, but after that Lloyd decided it was time to stop and rest. They found a larger cavern that wasn't surrounded by deepstone, and Zane 1 stood watch as the rest went to sleep.

Lloyd stayed awake late, just thinking. How would Morro transition to being human? It would probably take a while to get used to it. He would probably crash into things a lot. Hopefully he would get used to being corporeal pretty fast. He still had Nicole's jacket, and was curled up a bit as he slept a few feet away. Did ghosts just need less sleep in general, or was he tired before he became human and just didn't notice? And what about food? And heat? Ghosts didn't have body heat, so they weren't losing heat and therefore probably didn't need as much. It was hard to say for the other two though.

After a while, the blond decided he wasn't going to be able to get to sleep lying on the cold stone, so he scooted over next to Morro 2 and rested his head on his chest. Better. Now he could sleep. Before long, he drifted off.

TheDarknessReturn

Lloyd A awoke with a start in the middle of the night.

Or… well… it could be any time of day, they were in a tunnel and there was no outside light. But everyone else but Zane was still asleep, so he assumed it was night. Except… except Nicole. She was sitting upright a few feet away, staring blankly into space. Weird.

Rolling over onto his other side, Lloyd thought back to the dream that woke him up. It was… vivid, in a word. He had cornered Morro A, and was slowly killing him, stabbing him again and again. His enemy had been pleading for mercy, crying, but Lloyd didn't let up. At the end, Morro died, and Lloyd felt… horrible. Was that what would happen if he hurt him? He would instantly regret it? No. Morro deserved it.

But the thought kept nagging at him. A little voice in the back of his head kept insisting that if he hurt Morro it would come back to bite him. Of course, the others would be mad, he knew that. Hurting Morro was worth it.

Now that he thought about it, though… he couldn't kill him. He would just turn him back into a ghost, and he would be back where he started, unable to hurt him badly without killing him. No… he had to do something else.

Maybe do what was done to him: chop off his leg. But no, if he didn't get immediate medical attention, he could die. He had to do something… less drastic.

His fingers would do.

* * *

 **Lloyd needs therapy**

 **like, serious therapy**

 **Anyway I can't guarantee I'll update tomorrow because I'm goinG TO SEE THE NINJAGO MOVIE WOO**

 **~FFF**


	56. Chapter 56

**Well I think that's a pretty impressive update time xd  
**

 **Review replies:**

 **Impossiblegirl: This is gonna go _great_  
**

 **Windy; Yep! I spent all my money on tickets. xd It wouldn't work. Kai was in Ninjago when he died, remember? And he turned into a ghost. Killing him wouldn't work either way. "jESSICA I LOVE YOU BUT WHY DO YOU HAVE TO CLIMB ON THE CEILING YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK" and yep, Nicole's the one who likes Morro. xd**

 **Kat: Oh, he knows he'll get caught. He feels that being able to hurt Morro outweighs the consequences.**

 **Entity: Okay xD That makes more sense.**

 **Draconis: Well, best to avoid like groups on social media because they're sure to have spoilers, but I think fanfiction should be safe. I won't post any spoilers, dw. xd**

 **Guest: Yep! I'm very excited ^ ^ Too bad it comes out later there :P England's not getting it until mid october.**

 **NinjagoMLP: Well that sucks :P**

* * *

"Welcome to the lava room." Lloyd gestured out at the cavern in front of them, with the huge pit of bubbling magma that kept them from reaching the other side.

"Fun." Kai 2 remarked dully. "How do we get across?"

"Well, last time, Jessica tied a rope to an outcropping of rock on one side, then climbed along the wall and tied it again on the other, and we went across hand-over-hand."

"Well, okay, let's do that." Nya 2 opened up her backpack to get out a ropa, but frowned. "Who took my rope?"

"Didn't you use it to get across the other pit?" Her Jay asked.

"No, that was me." The other Nya said.

"Well, whatever. Someone should have a rope, shouldn't they?" The group began checking backpacks, but there was no rope to be found.

"I could've sworn I had one." Kai 1 scratched his head.

"Me too." Cole 2 agreed. "Where could they have gone?" Inevitably, all eyes turned towards Morro 2.

"What?" He raised both hands in the air. "What use would I have for ropes? And even if I did take them, how could I hide them on my person? I don't even have a backpack!"

"Maybe you threw them off a cliff while we were asleep." Lloyd 2 narrowed his eyes.

"No, he didn't." Lloyd spoke up. "He fell asleep before I did, and I can assure you that he didn't move all night."

"And how could you know that?" Lloyd 2 snapped.

"I- we were-"

"'Cause he was using him as a pillow, Lloyd." Indigo deadpanned. "I saw them. And he has no incentive to steal the ropes or destroy them, he'll starve to death same as us if we're trapped here." Lloyd's double huffed, but didn't argue further.

"Speaking of starving, let's eat. We have enough rations for one more meal, I think, and I think better on a full stomach." Cole 1 spoke up. The others nodded, and the group sat down and began digging through packs. After a moment, Jay 2 said,

"Oh no."

"What is it?" Lloyd asked, but soon figured it out on his own: The food in his pack was gone.

"It's gone!" Kai 1 exclaimed, turning his backpack upside-down and shaking it. "Does _anyone_ still have food?" The others soon confirmed that, no, it was all gone. Again, all eyes turned towards Morro 2.

"I swear, I didn't take it!" He insisted, but he sounded panicked.

"Oh really? You were complaining about being hungry when you first became human, and that was almost 24 hours ago! It wouldn't be hard for you to slip away from Lloyd and eat everything we have left!" Jay 2 accused him.

"Now hold on a second." Lloyd broke in. "Zane, you were keeping watch all night last night, weren't you?" The nindroid hesitated.

"I'm… afraid I powered down for about an hour." The ice master confessed. "I cannot say if Morro stole the food."

"I didn't!" Morro still sounded panicked. Was it because he was guilty?

"You sound guilty." Lloyd 2 snapped.

"I'm not guilty! I'm scared! I know you all hate me, I'm afraid of what you'll do to me if you think I stole your food!" The others hesitated, and Garmadon 2 took the opportunity to speak up.

"I know how to settle this. Cole… A?" The ghost looked over in acknowledgement. "Possess him. See if he's telling the truth." Morro's face paled as Cole 2 stood up and approached him, but he didn't move to flee, just grabbed Lloyd's wrist and squeezed him tight. As the group watched tensely, Cole's body merged with Morro's, and, for a few moments, the wind master's eyes fell shut. Then Cole came out of him, proclaiming,

"He didn't do it. He doesn't know anything about what happened to the food or the ropes." Morro's grip loosened on Lloyd's wrist as his innocence was proved, and there were a few murmurs from around the camp.

"Well, if he didn't do it, then who did?" Dyana asked.

"I don't know." Lloyd shook his head.

"For now, we need to get out of this volcano. Once we're there, we can charge up the Realm Crystal and get back to Stiix in an instant." The group murmured in agreement, then Kai 1 spoke.

"Do you suppose we could Airjitzu across?" Lloyd frowned.

"It's possible. But… if we try and fail, we'll fall into the lava.

"We could try to find a way around." Nicole suggested. Lloyd snapped his fingers.

"That's it! There must be another way around – Morro and Indigo and… a couple others went around on our first trip through."

"That's right." Morro nodded. "Come on, let's look for that other route."

TheDarknessReturn

"You know, maybe we should've snatched some more food before we left the Cursed Realm." Jay 1 muttered. "Then we could at least eat before all our food was stolen."

"We probably should've." Jessica agreed. "But it's too late for that now." Jay sighed.

"Yep." Since Zane didn't have a map of every tunnel, they had quickly gotten lost. It had been hours since they had left the lava room, and they couldn't even find their way back.

"It's hopeless." Jay 2 moaned. "We're never going to make it out. We're going to die here."

"Jay, don't talk like that." Nya 2 berated him. "We'll be fine. We have to." Jay sighed.

"If you say so."

"May I remind you, Jay, that as Ninjago is currently a cursed realm, you would not die upon your body shutting down from starvation, but you would become a ghost." Zane spoke up from the front of the pack. Jay frowned.

"That's… not much better."

"On the contrary, you would still be here to defend Ninjago."

"But I'd be _dead!_ "

"A ghost."

" _DEAD!_ "

"Okay, it doesn't matter, because we're not going to starve to death." Nya interrupted. "Get a grip."

"Okay." Morro 2 was trailing along a few feet behind the rest of the group, one hand on his stomach. He looked miserable. Poor Morro. It couldn't be fun, turning human again then promptly starving to death. Lloyd fell back next to him, touching his shoulder.

"You okay?" The wind master shook his head.

"It's pathetic, isn't it?" He said softly. "When I was young, sometimes I starved for weeks at a time. Now I can barely stand not being able to eat for a couple of days."

"I think it would be worse if you were accustomed to starving." Lloyd put an arm around his shoulders. "At least you're not cold anymore, right?"

"Yeah." Morro smiled, fingering Nicole's jacket. "Nicole's jacket helps, and it's overall warmer in the volcano. Lloyd, can I…" He lowered his voice, slowing down so they fell even farther behind. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course." Lloyd nodded.

"I… I think I'm in love with her."

"Who, Nicole?"

"Yeah." Morro swallowed, nodding. "I… I know I just met her, but… I just can't stop _thinking_ about her. My train of thought always leads to her, when I try to stop thinking about her I can't, I… we've barely even _spoken_ , but I can't help thinking about her voice and her hair and her eyes…" He trailed off. "I sound like an idiot, don't I?"

"No, you sound like you're in love." The blond grinned, elbowing him lightly. "You should talk to her. Get to know how."

"What? No. She probably doesn't even like me."

"She gave you her jacket." He pointed out. Morro hesitated.

"Well… true. But won't she just think I'm weird if I randomly go up and start talking to her?"

"That's called initiating a conversation, Morro."

"But I barely know her."

"Go and thank her for letting you borrow her jacket, or for watching out for you when you were hurt, or something like that."

"But-"

"Go. Do it." Lloyd pushed him forward, and Morro slowly sped up to approach Nicole. The blond watched as he tapped her on the shoulder, then said something too quiet for him to hear. Nicole smiled, replying, then grabbed his arm and pulled him over to walk next to her. That worked well. Lloyd sped up so he was at least closer to the others, then walked in silence for about 15 minutes. It was at that point that a loud, familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.

"I can help you get out of the volcano." Lloyd froze in shock, spinning around at the voice behind him in an attempt to find the owner. It didn't take him long to locate the speaker, a short, yet muscular young woman who stood in the mouth of one of the adjoining tunnels.

It was Jessica.

* * *

 **"It's more handy than you might think." Nicole shrugged. "I can give people daydreams, talk to them in dreams, influence their thoughts in my favor… it's gotten me out of plenty of scrapes."**

 **Thank you, that is all**

 **by the time I update again I'll have wATCHED THE NINJAGO MOVIE WOO**

 **~FFF**


	57. Chapter 57

**Ok I think this is the last day in a row I'm gonna update because I need to work on homework xd**

 **and no review replies cause im in a rush but ENJOY**

* * *

"Whoa." Jessica whispered in awe. "It's a me."

Well, she wasn't wrong. Jessica and her double were almost identical, the exceptions being their clothes and the length of their hair, Jessica 2 had hers cut short in a bob.

"And you're a me." The other her said simply. "Now do you want out of this volcano or not?"

"Uh, yes! Definitely!" Jay 2 nodded earnestly.

"Then follow me." Jessica 2 headed back down the tunnel she was in, and the group quickly followed. She didn't explain who she was or why she was there, and she didn't ask any of them that either. She didn't seem like she was a very talkative person. Jessica 1 didn't let that stop her. She trailed along just behind her double, peppering her with questions that were either ignored or answered curtly. Jessie either didn't get the hint or ignored it. Finally, Lloyd went up and suggested she leave her double alone, since she looked cranky. The daredevil complied, falling back to chat with him instead.

After a couple hours of walking, Jessica 2 declared that it was getting late and they should stop for the night. Lloyd was confused, since it felt like it should be only mid-afternoon since they got up, but figured their collective internal clock was off due to wandering around in pitch-black tunnels for days. So they made camp, and complained for a bite about how hungry they were before forcing themselves to rest. It took some time, but soon enough everyone but Zane was asleep.

TheDarknessReturn

Lloyd was startled awake by a loud clang.

The sudden noise was followed by a muttered curse, and Lloyd figured someone had tripped over something in the dark. He was about to go back to sleep when he realized something: it wasn't supposed to be dark. What happened to Zane? He was lighting up the cave with his eyes when he went to sleep. Something wasn't right. Lloyd opened his eyes, and saw nothing but pitch blackness other than the glow of the ghosts. Something definitely wasn't right.

"Hey," a voice said in the darkness. One of the Kais. "What's going on?" Abruptly, there was a thud, then Kai grunted and fell silent. They were being attacked! Rolling over, Lloyd nudged Morro 2 with his foot, trying to wake him. It didn't work. Reaching over, Lloyd shook him hard. The wind master groaned, then said aloud,

"Huh? Why's it so dark?" Lloyd waited for a few seconds, waiting for their attacker to come close. Morro was bait. Sorry Morro. He heard a soft footstep, and instantly charged an orb of energy, lighting up the cavern. To his shock, Jessica 2 was standing over Morro, a rock clutched in one hand which was poised to strike him. Her eyes widened as the room lit up, but she didn't miss a beat, turning and swinging the rock at Lloyd instead. It caught him in the shoulder, and he cried out as pain shot through him, his light flickering.

"WAKE UP!" Morro shouted, scrambling away from Jessica as she raised the rock to strike again. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Lloyd heard mumbles from the others as he dodged his girlfriend's double's swing at his head, taking his cue from Morro and backing away. The others were waking up, albeit slowly, so they could take her on together. She kept coming though, and Morro 2 tackled her from the side, trying to pin her down. Unfortunately, the managed to land a kick to the wind master's stomach, and he slumped to the ground, coughing and gasping for air.

"Wake _up!_ " Lloyd yelled, scrambling back further as Jessica 2 turned to him again. Finally, the others got the message, and Lila and Cole 2 grabbed her and pinned her down long enough to get her chained. " _Thank_ you. Kai, light a fire." Lloyd called over to the bleary fire ninja, letting his light fade away as his order was obeyed. "Morro, you okay?" The blond asked, crawling over to the wind master who was still curled up on the ground. He nodded, wincing.

"F-forgot how much a kick to the stomach hurt." Lloyd gave his shoulder a squeeze, then turned to Jessica 2, who was growling at her captors.

"What's your deal?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips. She didn't answer, just glared daggers at him. "Well? Why did you attack us? Why do you want us dead?"

"I wasn't trying to kill you." She hissed. "I just wanted your supplies."

"Our supplies…?" He exchanged glances with Morro 2. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to all our ropes and food, would you?" She snorted.

"A girl's gotta get her food somehow."

"You could have _asked._ "

"That never works." She rolled her eyes.

"It would have with us."

"No it wouldn't." She sighed. "Fine then. Lock me up. Kill me. Lord knows death would be better at this point."

"No, we're not going to kill you. That solves nothing, and we're better than that." Lloyd shook his head. "No, we need to get out of here. Get us out of this volcano, and we'll bring you whatever supplies you ask for." The brunette narrowed her eyes.

"And how do I know you'll do what you say you'll do?" Lloyd frowned.

"I could… give you something valuble to hold onto until we honor it."

"What if you stole it back when I'm asleep?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Jessica, you're at our mercy. We could take it back whenever we want. Look, all we want is to get out of this volcano, and we're willing to give you a lot for it. Would you rather take the deal, or…" Something occurred to him. "Or should I just have one of our ghosts possess you and figure out the way out on their own?" She paled a bit.

"I'll take it."

"Good." Lloyd stood up. "And by the way, where's our food?"

"In my stash." The bound girl muttered. "It's way back- we're closer to the exit then there, we might as well just get out."

"Alright. Everyone, ready to move?"

"Uh… no?" Jessica 1 looked like she had just woken up. "The heck's going on?"

"It's a bit of a long story." Lloyd shook his head, smiling a bit. "Just get ready to go." His girlfriend shrugged, then obeyed. It only took a few minutes for the camp to get packed up and ready to go, then a couple minutes more to get Zane 1 back online after Jess 2 clobbered him with a rock, then they set off. This time with a more compliant guide.

An hour later, they stood on the outside of the mountain on a small ledge. Unfortunately, it was nighttime, and, of course, the Realm Crystal needed _sunlight_ to function. So they waited some more, some chatting, some sleeping, and some just thinking.

Finally, the sun rose. Lloyd unpacked the Realm Crystal and laid it on the ground to charge, and soon it was glowing again. After rousing everyone and releasing Jessica 2, he created a portal back to Stiix and beckoned everyone in. As he watched them go through, he felt his excitement growing. They were almost home! Well, not _home_ home, but safety, anyway. When everyone else had gone through, Lloyd followed, falling through the void for a few moments before landing on a wooden bridge. As he looked around the city on water, one thing became immediately clear:

Stiix was on fire.

* * *

 **That's harsh**

 **Jessica 2 is such a mystery I wonder what's going on with her xd**

 **~FFF**


	58. Chapter 58

**So how's school for you all I personally am going to die**

 **Review replies:**

 **NinjagoMLP: Like, 3 people. But in their defense, they thought the others were going to come right back.**

 **Entity: Unlikely that there would be bad guys there in the first place, unless they were setting the fire, but then they would skedaddle. xd**

 **Monile: JUST ANOTHER DAY IN NINJAGO**

 **Ebony: Just another day in Ninjago.**

 **Windy: It probably caught on fire or something. xd**

* * *

Despite how great a disaster the fire had appeared to be at first, it really wasn't that hard to take care of it. Not with two water masters.

After surrounding the ghosts in a protective bubble supplied by Nya 2, Nya 1 lifted the entire ocean around Stiix, immersing the whole city in water for a moment and putting out the fires. They then took a quick round around the city to make sure no one had been swept out to sea. Once they were satisfied with their job, they sought out the answer to _why_ the city was on fire in the first place. They got the answer from a group of drenched villagers, who told them about Bansha's attack.

Apparently a group of archers had shot flaming arrows into the city about 15 minutes before the ninja had arrived, setting the entire city ablaze. Lloyd shuddered to think about what would have happened if they had arrived only a few hours later. Once they got the full story, they finally headed back to the base, towards home, and, more importantly, food.

TheDarknessReturn

"Brother!" Sensei hugged his elder brother tight in greeting, the grey-haired man gladly returning it. "It is good to see you again."

"As it is to see you, Wu." Garmadon 2 smiled warmly as he pulled away, clasping Sensei's shoulders.

"And Morro!" Sensei turned a bit to look at his student. "You're alive!" Morro 2 smiled a bit, nodding.

"Clouse tried to cast a spell on us, but Cole interrupted it and the unfinished spell hit me. It turned me human somehow." He shrugged. "Now, I don't mean to be rude, but our already-small food supply was stolen on the way back, and we've barely eaten in around three days, so we're all starving.

"I don't usually agree with Morro, but, yeah, we really need to eat." Jay 2 nodded.

"Then by all means." Sensei beckoned them towards the dining room. "But I hope to hear the full story afterwards, including explanations as to why you didn't simply teleport back, and…" He cast a glance at Lloyd 2, who Kai 1 was carrying towards the dining room. "…what happened to my nephew's leg… again."

"In due time." Garmadon 2 assured him. "But first, we eat."

And eat they did, and quickly, despite Sensei's warnings not to eat too much too fast. A couple of them felt sick afterwards, but it was better than the starving. The Nyas left after the meal to assemble a new leg for Lloyd 2 while the others told Sensei, Harry, and Nico the full story of what had happened since they left.

The Nyas succeeded in making a working leg for Lloyd before nightfall, and he spent an hour before going to bed practicing walking around. The others sat around in the living room/den, talking, joking, and cuddling in some instances. Most of the group stayed up until nearly midnight, since all of them were off sleep-wise due to the days spent wandering in tunnels. Finally, they all went to bed, all of them falling asleep quickly after the events of the day. For a long time, all was quiet.

TheDarknessReturn

Lloyd A awoke to the quiet beeping of his alarm clock in the middle of the night.

For a moment, he wondered _why the heck_ his alarm was going off when it was clearly far too early. Then he remembered. Turning it off, Lloyd sat up, swinging his leg over the side of his bed and grabbing his prosthetic to attach it to his stump of a leg. Once it was secure, he knelt next to his bed and pulled out a small box from underneath it. Opening it up, he pulled out a small knife. Carefully, he slid his thumb along the blade, and a thin line of blood appeared. It was razor sharp. Good. Standing up, the blond gripped the handle of his knife firmly, quietly leaving his room.

It took him a little while to find Morro, due to how many bedrooms there were in the base, but he eventually found him at the far side of the building. Alone. Slipping inside and closing the door behind him, the blond crept over next to the bed, heart pounding as his prosthetic squeaked softly. Morro didn't stir. Crouching a bit, Lloyd grabbed the sleeping boy's left hand and held the knife up to it. For a moment, he hesitated, staring down at the wind master's peaceful face. Maybe he shouldn't do this…

…it was too late to back out now. Taking Morro's hand by the tips of his fingers, Lloyd took the knife, and, in one clean slice, chopped all his fingers off.

TheDarknessReturn

A scream jarred Lloyd 1 from his sleep.

Though he was getting increasingly fed up with being woken up in the middle of the night, Lloyd dragged himself out of bed to investigate. He heard another cry, then slamming doors as he ventured out into the hall. What was going on? As he hurried down the hall, he heard footsteps heading in his direction, and slowed a bit, afraid it was an enemy. A moment later, the figure rounded the corner. Morro 2?

"Morro, what's going-" the blond cut off abruptly as the wind master stepped into a beam of moonlight, stopped in his tracks by horror.

Morro was covered in blood.

His fingers- his fingers on his left hand were _gone_. He was clutching his left hand with his right, and both his hands and arms were so soaked with blood that he almost couldn't tell where it was coming from. But he could see the stumps on his left hand where four of his fingers used to be. Morro was shaking, sobbing. Both from pain and fear. Snapping out of his daze, Lloyd dashed forward, demanding,

"What happened? Who did this to you?!" The wind master shook his head, closing his eyes as he sobbed. He was crying too hard to answer. "Come with me. Hurry." Lloyd grabbed his bloody arm, pulling him down the hall towards the medical bay. He had to stop the bleeding. Glancing over his shoulder, Lloyd froze at the sight of a figure standing in the same beam of light that Morro had been in only moments before.

It was the other him. He had a blank, expressionless look on his face. The only sign of emotion was his narrowed eyes.

Clutched in one hand was a bloody knife.

"He did this?" Lloyd whispered in shock. Morro turned to look behind him, then his eyes widened in alarm and he broke out of the blond's grasp, darting forward and around the corner. That must be a yes. "Alright, that doesn't matter right now." Lloyd hurried after him to find him huddled against the wall. "We need to get you to the medical bay so we can stop the bleeding." Morro shook his head, trying to rub the tears off his face and only succeeding in smearing blood across it. "Come on!" Though he was reluctant to move for some reason, the wind master let Lloyd drag him down the hall and into the medical bay.

"What's going on?" A voice asked as the blond flipped on the lights to help him find his bandages. A glance over his shoulder revealed Jessica, just in time to see her eyes widen in horror and her stumble back against the doorframe at the sight of all the blood.

"Go get Andreea." Lloyd ordered, finally locating a wad of bandages. Jessica didn't move.

"Are- are you-"

"I'm not hurt, it's Morro. Go, now!" Covering her mouth with her hands, his girlfriend ran off. Taking the gauze, Lloyd got Morro to sit down against the wall, then pressed the cloth against his wounds. The wind master cried out as the bandages pressed against his open wounds, trying to pull away, but Lloyd grabbed his wrist. "We have to stop the bleeding." He said firmly. Morro wasn't listening, and kept trying to jerk his hand away, but the blond didn't let go. Finally, just as he gave up on trying to get away, Andreea arrived, her entrance announced by her gasp upon seeing Morro, soaked with blood.

"What- how-" she stammered.

"I'll explain in a minute." Lloyd pulled the gauze away from Morro's wounds, causing the dark-haired boy to cry out again. "Can you heal him?"

"I… I can't regrow his fingers, but…"

"Can you stop the bleeding?"

"I can do that." Andreea knelt next to the crying teen, ignoring the blood on the floor around him and touching his hand as her fingers started to glow. As Lloyd watched, skin grew over the open wounds, staunching the bleeding, and Morro's panicked breaths calmed a bit. After a few moments, Andreea pulled her hand away, and Morro cautiously opened his eyes. He began to shake again at the sight of the blood still coating his hands and arms, and squeezed his eyes shut, starting to sob again. Lloyd scooted closer and hugged him – he was already too covered in blood to care about a little more. As the wind master buried his face in his shoulder, Lloyd said quietly,

"Thank you, Andreea." She nodded.

"What happened to him?"

"He… hasn't been able to speak since it happened, but… I saw my double standing in the hallway with a bloody knife. And he looked… scary. And when Morro saw him, he panicked and ran. I think my double snuck up while he was asleep and sliced his fingers off." Andreea's eyes widened in horror.

"No… no, why…"

"Go find him. Please. He's wandering around somewhere, and I'm afraid he's… unstable." Still looking horrified at the suggestion that her boyfriend had done this, the brunette stood and hurried out of the room. "Jessica," Lloyd called over to his girlfriend, who was standing just outside the room. "Can you wake everyone up? Tell them what happened?" She nodded, running off. "It's okay." The blond said softly, hopefully loud enough for Morro to hear him through his sobs. "Andreea healed you. You're gonna be fine."

"'m not… n-not fine…" Morro managed through his sobs. "M-my fingers…"

"I know, I know." Lloyd rubbed his back, cringing at the sticky feeling of blood all over him. "But we can fix this. Just relax. It's gonna be okay." Morro didn't answer for about five minutes. At that point, he managed to stop crying, and whispered,

"I w-want this b-blood o-off of m-me…"

"Can you stand up?" The wind master nodded, pulling away a bit and letting Lloyd pull him up with him as he stood. The black-haired boy looked up to meet his eyes, then flinched away. "What?"

"Th-there's blood on you t-too.." Morro lowered his eyes again, then shut them. There was blood _everywhere._

"Come on." Lloyd pulled him over to the sink, where he wet a towel and began cleaning the blood off Morro's face. The black-haired teen didn't fight, just sat quietly on the floor. Once he was done with his face, Lloyd cleaned his right hand and arm, then his left arm, but paused when he came to his hand. Morro was silent, so the blond began to clean the blood off of what was left of his fingers. Morro flinched, but didn't open his eyes or speak.

"You'll have to change your clothes." The blond said at last, letting go of his hand and starting to try to scrub the blood off his own face.

"Mm-hmm." Morro hummed in response.

"Morro!" Sensei's face came from the doorway, and the wind master jumped, looking up in surprise to see the older man hurrying towards him. "Jessica told me what happened. How are you doing?"

"Not… n-not good." The bloody teen whispered.

"My nephew has been found and locked up. He will not harm you again." Morro visibly relaxed at that.

"I… I need some rest…" He whispered. "L-lost a lot of blood…"

"Do you wish to go back to your room?"

"No, no… not there." He shook his head. "S-somewhere not covered in blood."

"You could sleep in my room if you wish.

"C-can Lloyd come?"

"Of course."

"Then y-yeah…"

"Alright." Sensei watched as Lloyd helped Morro to his feet, then supported him as their Sensei lead them down the halls to his own room. Once they arrived, Morro climbed into bed, falling asleep even before Lloyd could climb in next to him. The blond had no such luck falling asleep, too panicked by the events of the last hour to calm down in the slightest. So instead he stared at Morro's disfigured hand, a million questions racing through his head. One, pressing question stood out from the rest.

 _Why?_

* * *

 **Me: The city being on fire wasn't really that bad!**

 **You: Yay!**

 **Me: Now here's something much worse**

 **You: The f-**

 **~FFF**

 **P.S. 100,000 WORDS HECC YEAH**


	59. Chapter 59

**Who else wants to give Lloyd 2 a stern talking-to**

 **Review replies:**

 **Draconis: I don't believe I have. Sounds interesting though, I might check it out. That's great! I assume you liked it?**

 **Ebony: Not any of the torture that you've seen anyway. xdd Morro was never very good with blood, he got into a few scrapes before he met Wu that were not good for his mental state. As for the fight with Garmadon, he wasn't badly injured, Garmadon stalled him by casting the spell to possess him long enough for him to trap him and leave him for dead. No one really trusts Lloyd around actual bad guys, both for their sakes and his.**

 **Zena: xddddd**

 **Jayden: xd**

 **Entity: Never heard "kafluffle". xd Well I don't think that really counts as school... xD**

 **Nicktastic: He just gotta**

 **Monile: xdddd**

 **Windy: Thanks! It was very fun to write. ^ ^**

 **Emobilcipher: Very strong sleeper. Like most of the people in the base. Only Lloyd woke up because he's used to Morro screaming in the middle of the night. And very pissed off. See the end of this chapter.**

* * *

Lloyd awoke to the feeling of something sticky all over him.

What…? The blond blinked his eyes open, looking around the room. This wasn't his room. And it looked like it was mid-afternoon. Why had they let him sleep in so late? He looked back down at the bed, and his memories of the previous night rushed back to him as he registered Morro there. Right. His double being crazy and violent. Blood everywhere. Morro's fingers cut off. That was pretty bad.

Morro was still fast asleep on the bed, a few streaks of dried blood on his face. If Morro looked like that after Lloyd had cleaned him up, the blond himself must look pretty bad. Carefully, he untangled himself from the sleeping boy, then went to look in a mirror on the other side of the room. Yep, he had dried blood all ove r his face and arms. From Morro's reaction to all the blood last night, probably seeing his best friend covered in blood would freak him out.

So he scribbled a quick note – 'I went to clean up, I'll be back soon -Lloyd' – before heading off towards the bathroom down the hall. He spent about ten minutes scrubbing all the blood off his exposed skin, then headed to his room and changed clothes before going back to Sensei's room. Oddly enough, he didn't see anyone on his way back or forth. He heard voices, but didn't run into any of the others. When he arrived, he found Morro sitting up on the bed, Lloyd's note in his good hand as he stared at the remains of his fingers.

"Hey." Lloyd said softly as he entered. Morro looked up.

"Hey." He replied quietly before turning back to his hand.

"How are you feeling?" Lloyd came over and sat down next to him.

"…physically, not bad. Mentally…" He sighed quietly. "My hand is ruined… how can I fight?"

"With your other hand. And with your feet. And your powers." Morro cracked a faint smile.

"Well, true… but I'm still down a hand. That's one less sword I can wield."

"Maybe the Nyas can build you a new one." The blond suggested. Morro shook his head.

"Maybe if it was my whole hand, but four fingers are a lot harder to recreate than a leg."

"Still, those two are super smart. I'm sure they can do something." The two were silent for a moment. "Why did he do it?" Lloyd said at last, talking the dark-haired teen's injured hand in both of his.

"He hates me, that's why." Morro mumbled. "He… he came into my room when I was asleep. I woke up when he cut my fingers off. He didn't otherwise attack me, but he said… he said 'that was for my mom'. Then he just walked away. He stopped by the door, and watched me. I ran." The wind master's voice was monotone. "Then he followed me."

"I… but… he's supposed to be a good guy! Maybe… maybe he's possessed."

"He's not like you, Lloyd." Morro shook his head. "I've seen that hatred in his eyes since you first captured me. Me becoming human only gave him the chance he had been waiting for to get his revenge on me." He gave a faint smile. "I've… I've done so much to him, I honestly can't blame him. I deserve it." His voice cracked.

"No, no you don't. Not when you're trying your best to be good. He should return the trust you've given me and the others, not punish you for it." Lloyd rubbed Morro's palm with his thumb. "You don't deserve pain. You deserve safety. You need it, there are enough outside forces trying to hurt you without members of our own group attacking you." Morro nodded a bit, but didn't answer. After a few moments, he looked down at himself.

"I ruined Nicole's jacket." He whispered. It was true, the navy-blue jacket was thoroughly soaked and stained with blood.

"I don't think she'll mind. You couldn't help it." Lloyd patted his shoulder. "You should get up and get some food and water."

"I don't… I don't think I can eat. I'd just throw up."

"Well, drink some water, at least. You lost a lot of blood." Slowly, the wind master nodded.

"You'll have to help me. I'm…pretty weak."

"I can do that." Taking his good hand, Lloyd helped him to his feet, then pulled his left arm around his shoulders and lead him down the hall to the dining room. They found a few of the others there, Morro 1 and Dyana and Garmadon 2. His father's double looked… very upset. Lloyd couldn't blame him. His son had violently attacked someone last night. He looked up as the pair entered the room, and said,

"Morro, I'm… sorry. For what my son did."

"It's not your fault." The dark-haired teen said quietly as Lloyd lowered him into a chair.

"It is, in a way." The grey-haired man shook his head. "A few days ago, he spent nearly fifteen minutes telling me just how much he hated you. How he wished he could get revenge. I should have seen this coming." Morro shook his head.

"What's done is done." Once he was settled in his chair, Lloyd went to get the wind master a glass of water. He still wasn't sure if his double had gone mad with wishes of revenge, or if he was possessed or otherwise affected by an outside source. Maybe he could talk to him later. For now, he just had to make sure Morro recovered in peace.

TheDarknessReturn

Lloyd sat silently on the clean bed, staring down at his cuffed hands in his lap as he listened to the activity outside his window. Though this room wasn't a cell in the traditional sense, it was a prison, in the sense that he couldn't get out.

They had taken away his leg, cuffed his hands, and set a pair of guards outside his room. Though they had questioned him while they locked him up, he refused to say a word. Mainly because he didn't know how to answer them.

"Why". Why _did_ he do it? A rabid thirst for revenge? A slip of sanity? He honestly couldn't figure out what had possessed him to do that to Morro. All his previous excuses seemed weak and futile now.

He felt guilty. Horribly guilty. Both of what he'd done to Morro, and what he had done to everyone else. He had betrayed their trust. They might never trust him again. His relationships with the ninja, Dyana and Harry, Sensei, even his father, might be ruined forever. Lost in an instant. What he had done to Morro might cost him everyone he had ever loved.

Covered his face with his bound hands, Lloyd began to cry as the weight of what he had done hit him. He had thought it all through. He had calculated when Morro would be too exhausted to fend him off, when everyone else would be asleep. But he barely even considered the consequences. He knew the others would be angry, but he didn't think that through any further. He didn't think about how they would despise and distrust him. He didn't think about how they might never trust him again. He had done a terrible, terrible thing.

Hearing her prey's sobs, Nicole, satisfied, walked away from his window and left him with his thoughts.

* * *

 **I don't know about you guys but I would be really offended if someone chopped off my prospective boyfriend's fingers**

 **~FFF**


	60. Chapter 60

**CHATPER 60 WOOOOOOO WE BEAT THE LAST 2 BOOKS**

 **Review replies:  
**

 **Nicktastic: She means well. And honestly Lloyd deserves it.**

 **Ebony: LOL EXACTLY  
**

 **Entity: It's Lloyd 2-A xD and yes. Good luck! And nice. XDD**

 **Draconis: *maniacal laugh* I plan to write a story that takes place during season 7 after this!**

 **Monile: Not this, that's for sure.**

 **Emobilcipher: hecc yeah. And sure, I can do that xD**

 **Windy: Interesting... yes... yeah I would not react well to that either xd**

 **Wheelie: I actually plan on bringing them in in the next book!**

* * *

"What's… that?" Morro asked with a frown, staring at the metal contraption Nya A had set on the table in front of him.

"It's a hand." The water mistress replied cheerfully. "Well, most of one, anyway." It looked like… a glove, sort of. Except it was made of metal, and it was missing a thumb. "We're not sure how well it'll fit, since we made it without your hand as a guide, but…"

"But we can try it." Nya B finished. "Give me your hand. The injured one." Slowly, Morro lifted his left hand up onto the table, and watched as Nya B took the device and strapped it onto what was left of his hand. It had a band around his wrist, then another around the base of his thumb, and the four metal fingers strapped directly onto the stumps of his old fingers. He shuddered as the cold medal pressed against his finers – he knew something was there, but he couldn't _feel_ it. He could vaguely feel the cold of the metal, but not where it touched his skin. It wasn't a good sensation. Nya paused when he shuddered. "You okay?"

"Yeah, it just… feels weird." She shrugged, then went back to adjusting it. After a few moments, she asked,

"How does it feel? Too heavy? Too tight?" Morro lifted his hand experimentally.

"It feels fine. A little loose on my wrist, but it's pretty light.

"Good." The water master turned his hand over, then flipped a switch on the wristband. The apparatus hummed a bit, powering up. "Now act like you're moving your fingers." The wind master complied, trying to curve his non-existent fingers into a fist. Amazingly, the metal fingers responded. Other than the fingers being a bit longer than his old ones, it made a perfect fist.

"That's amazing." He said in awe. "How did you make it do that?"

"There's a sensor in the wristband." Nya A tapped the band. "It measures when you're using certain muscles, then it sends a signal to the fingers and they move accordingly. It's really not that special."

"It's far more complex than anything I could ever make." The wind master flexed his new fingers a few times. "Is it… is it strong? Could I punch someone?"

"Not sure. Best to restrict punching to the other hand unless you really have to." Nya A smiled a bit. "But it should be strong enough for everyday use. It will run out of battery eventually though, I think it will last about 48 hours without being charged before running out of power."

"How do I charge it?"

"Well, the easiest way is to ask one of the Jays to give it a zap – after you take it off, of course."

"How do I take it off?"

"Well…" Nya B frowned. "I'm not sure you'll be able to with one hand. Lloyd," She called over to Lloyd B, who was sitting on the other side of the table watching them. "Come over here. You're gonna be around Morro a lot, right?" The blond nodded, getting up and coming over. "Lemme show you how to get his hand on and off." Morro watched as she lead him through the steps of removing it and then replacing it, not noticing the girl coming up behind him until she spoke.

"Huh. Metal fingers." He jumped, looking up to see Nicole standing behind his chair. "Cool. Can you move them?"

"Uh… yeah, actually." Morro waited for them to finish re-attaching it, then flipped it on and showed her how he could move his fingers.

"Wow." She sounded impressed. "It's like you never lost a hand in the first place."

"It… kinda is." He chuckled awkwardly. "I don't even know if I can do basic stuff like pick things up with it."

"Can you pick me up?" She raised an eyebrow, and Morro immediately flushed red.

"I don't- I don't think-" He stammered as Lloyd began to snicker. "I don't think so?" Was she flirting with him?

"You should be able to pick things up normally, since the fingers should respond exactly how your old ones did. If not, we can tweak them." Nya A said, apparently oblivious to his discomfort. "Try the grip strength out. Grab your other arm." He obeyed, lifting his right hand up to the table and squeezing it with his metal hand. Immediately, he flinched.

"It… it grips a lot harder than I'm used to." He reported.

"Hmm. Can you reduce the pressure?" He tried again.

"Yeah, but what used to be a light squeeze not hurts."

"Do you want me to tone it down?"

"Not really. That could potentially be used as a weapon." Nya B rolled her eyes.

"Still thinking of everything in terms of fighting, I see."

"Sorry. Old habits die hard.

"Eh, I don't mind. Let me take this back and adjust the tightness a little bit, and… maybe add a band around the palm for extra support. Then you can punch people." She grinned, and he returned her smile.

"Thanks Nyas." They both nodded as Nya as detached the fake hand again, then left as Lloyd helped him to his feet. "Oh, Nicole…" With a bit of difficulty Morro unzipped the jacket he was wearing and took it off. "I… ruined your jacket." He looked at the ground as he held the bloody garment towards her. "Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay." She waved off his apology, taking it. "It's just dirty. A few bloodstains never hurt anyone." He smiled a bit, meeting her eyes.

"Okay."

"Morro, come on, you should rest." Lloyd tugged him away, then lead him down the hall towards Sensei's room. The wind master was silent for a few moments before saying,

"Lloyd, can you cut my hair?" The blond stopped in his tracks.

"Can I what?"

"Cut my hair." Morro repeated.

"I… first of all, that's probably more Zane's area of expertise, I'd do a terrible job. Secondly, why?"

"I dunno, I just… I want to look different. I don't want people to look at me and see a tyrant, that's not who I am anymore. I just want them to see a person. Becoming human helps, but I still look like… well, me." He shrugged. "I want to leave the past behind me."

"Alright, I'll talk to Zane about it. You're probably gonna want to change clothes too, since they're… covered with blood, and also what you were wearing when you ruled the world." Morro looked down at himself.

"Yeah…"

"You can use some of mine if you want. But really you should take a shower."

"I don't… know how."

"Well that makes things more complicated." Lloyd shook his head. "Whatever. For now, just rest, okay?" The wind master nodded, opening his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by a shout of alarm from the living room. The two teens exchanged glances, then ran back the way they had come to see what was going on. When they arrived, they found most of the good guys gathered around the TV, looking alarmed. As they got close, Morro could see Bansha A standing on a platform with a man, a woman, and a child chained up at the side of the screen. A few moments later, Morro's eyes widened in shock as he recognized the woman.

It was Indigo's double.

* * *

 **The Nyas are so chill xd**

 _ **METAL FINGERS**_

 **~FFF**


	61. Chapter 61

**Well I survived this week's school**

 **unfortunately I seem to have come down with depression. Unfortunate.**

 **Anyway, it's late, past my curfew, so I can't do review replies xd**

 **enjoy this short-ish chapter.**

* * *

"We have to go rescue them." Indigo said firmly. "That's my _family_."

"It's really not." Jay B tilted his head.

"Shush. Yes it is." The void mistress glared at him until he looked away.

"I agree that we should do something." Lloyd B folded his hands together on the table. "But what? Bansha is _very_ crafty. I'm not sure we can outsmart her. Last time we tried that…" He gestured to Kai A.

"And we clearly can't give in to her demands." The fire ninja in question added. The group nodded. Bansha had ordered, in return for the release of Indigo A and her family, their total surrender, the release of all their prisoners, and all the females in their group to give themselves up to be her prisoners. Why the females, Morro wasn't sure, but he assumed it was because the rest of them wouldn't dare attack with their sisters, girlfriends, and daughters at stake. Lloyd sighed.

"We can't surrender, and we probably can't rescue them. The third option is to leave them to their deaths." Bansha had threatened to kill them if they didn't surrender in three days. "And we can't do that."

"What if we… like… sent all our ghosts in, invisible, and see if we can rescue them?" Indigo suggested. Lloyd rubbed his chin.

"Not sure if that would work. They'll most likely be under constant surveillance."

"We could at least scope it out."

"But that's two days trip there and back. That takes up almost half our time, and you could get caught." The blond shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know what we should do." In the few moments of silence that followed, Morro heard footsteps approaching him from behind, and glanced over his shoulder to see Andreea stopping next to him.

"My Lloyd wanted to apoliogize." She said quietly. "He doubted you want to see him, so he asked me to pass along the message." Lloyd A was… sorry? Really? How in Ninjago did that happen, he didn't seem to feel any remorse when he was chopping off his fingers. The wind master looked down at his prosthetic fingers, then back up at her.

"Tell him I said 'thank you," He flexed his fingers a bit. "But I'm not sure I can forgive him yet'." She nodded, then left the room again.

"Maybe I can like… I dunno, go in there and pretend to give myself up, then mess with her head or something." Nicole was saying. Lloyd shook his head.

"She'd mess with your head first. Reena, remember?"

"Oh, but I can do more than just make people see things." The dark-haired girl grinned. "I can _actually_ mess with their heads. Like, I can put ideas in her head. I can make her think how I want her to think. I might even be able to switch her to our side." Lloyd frowned.

"You can put ideas in people's heads?"

"Yeah."

"That… no offense, but it makes it a bit harder to trust you." The blond cast a glance at Morro. The wind master frowned. Lloyd had a point, but… he really wanted to trust her. Nicole shrugged.

"I'm used to that, honestly."

"Well, okay then."

"I have an idea." Morro B spoke up. "Remember our plan from earlier, drown Ninjago city? We could just do that."

"But if Bansha saw us coming, she'd kill the prisoners, making them ghosts, and they'd be killed in the flood." Indigo frowned.

"I thought of that. We can send a small team – of humans – into the city. Right up to Bansha and her prisoners. If she makes a move to kill them, the team attacks her."

"But how would they get close to her without her seeing? And how would the Nyas get enough water without being spotted?" Lloyd still sounded skeptical.

"For the first question, Dyana." Morro's double gestured to the darkness mistress on the other side of the room. "Her powers can keep us hidden. For the second, the Coles can lift up some earth between the Nyas and the city, hiding what they're doing from Bansha's view."

"I guess." Lloyd nodded. "That could work."

"Unless someone has a better plan, it's all we've got to go on." Indigo said pointedly. "And we have three days."

"Then let's get planning. We'll need all the time we can get." Lloyd turned to Dyana. "How many people do you think you can keep hidden at once?" The young woman pondered this for a moment.

"Maybe five, if it's dark enough out." She said at last. "Excluding myself."

"Right. We'll have to do it at the end of the day, then. Who wants to be in the strike team?"

"I do." Morro spoke up. Lloyd frowned.

"Are you sure? You're still healing, and you're still getting used to being human."

"I'm sure." The blond frowned again, but didn't protest further.

"Alright, then I'm coming too. Who else?"

"I wanna go." Indigo announced.

"You can't. You're a ghost." Lloyd replied bluntly.

"So? When Nya floods the city, I can just possess Morro."

"Indigo!" Her boyfriend scolded her. "Possessing people isn't something you just do lightly. It hurts." Indigo raised an eyebrow.

"Since when are you a fan of your double?"

"I'm not a 'fan'. But I know that possession isn't pleasant. It's cruel. And my double has been hurt pretty badly already. Being possessed… I'm not sure what that would… do to him." Indigo frowned.

"But why do you care?" Morro's double hesitated, casting a glance at him.

"Let me talk to you privately for a minute." He lead his girlfriend out of the room, and Morro stared after them. The other him had… stood up for him? It confused him almost as much as it had Indigo. Out of the pair, he honestly thought the void mistress liked him better. Lloyd, he noticed, was smiling. Did he know something about this? Or was he just glad his Morro was being… nicer?

The group kept talking, planning, picking the other three members of the team. Morro's double and Indigo didn't come back. They must have gotten distracted. Lost in his thoughts, Morro barely noticed when Nicole said his name, and she had to repeat it a couple times before he looked up.

"Huh?"

"I was saying I'll keep an eye on you during the mission, make sure you don't run into any walls." She was smiling, and he blushed.

"I ran into a wall _one time_." He muttered, and she giggled.

"I know. And I intend to keep it that way." She smirked, then turned back to Lloyd. "When do we execute the plan?"

"We might as well start off as soon as possible. It will take a day to get there, after all." The blond sat up a bit straighter. "Kais, Jays, go tell everyone about our plans. Except the prisoners. That includes the other me. Everyone else, start getting ready to go." The others nodded, and quickly dispersed. Lloyd, however, stayed, stopping Morro as he made to leave. "As for you, come on. It's time for you to get a haircut."

* * *

 **who's ready for short hair morro**

 **~FFF**


	62. Chapter 62

**STILL ALIVE  
**

 **Review replies:**

 **Draconis: I'm glad you like that one! I'll probably write another part after I'm finished with this story.**

 **KitKat: NOTHING is more pressing than Morro's hair. Nothing.**

 **EmoBilcipher: Yeah, I'm not sure if I actually got depression or if I was just sick or something, I know I felt really rotten for a few days but it's over now.**

 **Entity: Grow up on the streets, you tend to accumulate a lot of saltiness. And anger. I wonder if that might possibly have to do something with the fact that she hasn't reached her true potential yet. xd**

 **NinjagoMLP: Not suspicious at all. No siree. And nah, that's just Stiix.**

 **Ebony: Give my boi a haircut**

 **Windy: Given her reaction to it, I'd say nah. Now he has short curly hair.**

* * *

Morro trudged along in the sand, feeling incredibly tired. Human bodies are so… limited! He had barely been walking an hour in the heat, and he was already exhausted. And thirsty. He didn't want to use up their supplies, though, so he kept quiet. He didn't want to do anything to mess this up. This was his chance to prove himself. Prove that he was on their side.

The group crossing the desert was fairly large. It consisted of the Nyas, the Coles, Lloyd B, Kai B, Nicole, Garmadon B, himself, and Dyana. Indigo and her boyfriend had also come along, due to the former's insistence. The pair had, to Indigo's dismay, been forced to agree to stay with the Coles a little way away from where the Nyas worked on collecting enough water to flood the city. They could both create water, but not at a volume enough to flood the city in one blow. They would have to stockpile it somehow.

He kept catching the others giving him weird looks, but he didn't think it was as much him being… well, him, as much as how different he looked with his hair cut. True to his word, Lloyd had gotten Zane to cut his hair short. He had washed it too. It was… really soft now. He couldn't stop running his fingers through the curls that appeared in it after it dried.

Nicole kept giving him looks as well, but these seemed more like admiring looks than suspicious ones. Before they left, she told him his hair looked cute. It was a good thing she walked off without waiting for a reply, because he was bushing and speechless for a good five minutes after that. Which, of course, was a great source of amusement to Lloyd.

The wind master was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the rock jutting out of the sand in front of him until he tripped over it, falling forward into the sand with a yelp. On the plus side, sand was soft. On the downside, now it was all over him. Stupid sand. Groaning, Morro rolled over onto his back, staring at the sky. He was too tired to get up. After a few moments, his view was blocked by Lloyd leaning over him.

"You okay?" He asked with a grin.

"No." The wind master muttered. "I'm hot, and tired, and thirsty, and now I'm covered in sand. I hate sand." The blond only chuckled.

"Come on, get up. Lying around won't get us out of this desert any sooner." He offered him a hand, but Morro just stared at it. "Come on. Here." Lloyd sat down next to him, grabbing a canteen from the side of his backpack. "Drink. If you're thirsty, you should ask for some water."

"I didn't want to bother anyone." Morro replied, sitting up and unscrewing the cap on the canteen.

"I think we would be more bothered if you suddenly collapsed from thirst." The green ninja raised an eyebrow.

"I guess." Morro finished taking a drink, then screwed the top back on and handed it back to Lloyd. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now come one, we want to get to the city by nightfall." The blond stood up again, offering the younger boy a hand again, and this time it was accepted. The two hurried to catch up with the others, who had slowed their pace when they fell behind but not stopped. The pair chatted for the rest of the afternoon, which helped the time pass more quickly. Before Morro knew it, night was falling, and the city was within view.

As before, the group stopped to rest in the small forest, since they hadn't slept in the last 36 hours. Morro wondered if Bansha had made the deadline short on purpose, if she knew that they would have to rush any plan they made in order to make it there in time to execute it. A day's worth of travel would mean, if they wanted to attack at nightfall, they would either have to skip resting or wait another full day in order to attack under the cover of darkness. Or not. He was probably overthinking this.

The party slept until nearly noon the next day, then the Nyas and the ghosts set off towards the city. Their plan was to go to the forest on the other side of the city, where they would have the cover of the trees, then the Coles would dig them a pit to collect the water as they got ready to flood the city. Come nightfall, the rest of the group would sneak into the city and locate Bansha, then wait for the Nyas to attack. As soon as Bansha figured out what was going on, they would kill her and any other ghosts around. Then they would get themselves and Indigo A and her family somewhere up high, so they wouldn't get washed away.

The afternoon passed slowly, but eventually night began to fall and the second group headed towards the city. Infiltrating was easy, they just stuck close to buildings and let Dyana's shadows hide them. Finding Bansha was easy, she had a live video feed of herself and her prisoners on every screen in the city. It was so quiet. Such a big city should be bustling with life, but everything was silent and still. It felt… wrong.

After about half an hour, they arrived in the courtyard of his old castle, where Bansha waited with the prisoners. Indigo's son was crying, and both his parents were trying to console him in hushed voices. Bansha was ignoring them. Had she just waited here for the last two days? Maybe she was an illusion.

The party settled in the shadows in the corner of the courtyard, watching and waiting, close enough to stop Bansha and her guards if they tried anything. Until the Nyas attacked, all they had to do was lie in wait.

TheDarknessReturn

Indigo stood at the edge of the woods, leaning on the trunk of an old tree as she stared at the city. Not long from now, the city would be theirs. And thoroughly soaked. Unfortunate side effect. What did the ghosts do when it rained, she wondered?

"Indigo, don't get so close to the edge." She looked over her shoulder to see Morro coming up behind her, a concerned look on his face.

"Why not?" She asked, but took a few steps back anyway.

"I don't want you to get spotted."

"Who's gonna spot me? We're half a mile away from the city." She raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know what-" he broke off as his eyes locked on something behind her. "What the heck is that?" Indigo turned around to see, to her shock, a giant ball of fire hurtling through the air towards them. She jumped back with a yelp, though she knew it couldn't hurt her, and the pair watched in stunned silence as it flew over their patch of trees and landed a quarter-mile away.

"Uhh…" Indigo said after a moment. "Should we check on the others?"

"Yeah." Grabbing her hand, Morro ran back to where the Nyas were filling a pit full of water. They didn't seem very disturbed by the fact that the forest behind them was on fire. However, they were disturbed by what fell next, a giant boulder that missed Nya 1 by a hair as it thudded to the ground in the clearing. There were exclamations of shock all around, and Cole 2 lifted himself up on a pillar of rock to see above the trees.

"More are coming!" He yelled in alarm. "Nyas, keep going! We'll keep them off you!" The other Cole joined him as Indigo shook his head.

"Something is wrong. Something is very wrong." Yanking her hand out of Morro's grip, she turned and started back towards the city.

"Indigo, wait!" He followed her, but she continued.

"If they're throwing things at us, they know we're here! They know what we're doing! It's a set-up!" She went faster. "I'm going to help!"

"Indigo, no! You'll be killed in the flood!" her boyfriend protested.

"I have a dragon! I'll just fly away!" Coming out from the trees, Indigo broke into a run, turning invisible. If she didn't get there soon, the others would be caught in a trap.

TheDarknessReturn

A distant tremor made Lloyd lift his head with a frown.

The only explanation he could think of was… Cole. But both Coles were with the Nyas. Why would they be making earthquakes? An accident? The blond didn't think much of it. Bansha hadn't reacted, maybe he had imagined it.

He did not, however, imagine the scream that sounded from directly behind him.

Lloyd's head snapped around in alarm to see vines wrapped around Nicole and Dyana, and more starting to coil around the others as well. The others hadn't reacted in time, and though they struggled, they couldn't get out of their grasp. Jumping to his feet, the blond scrambled backwards, looking around in alarm. Those vines. They were the same one that boy, Gray, had used to keep him and his Morro prisoner. He was here. But how did he know about them? Did Bansha…?! The green ninja turned to see the blade mistress striding purposefully across the cobblestones towards her prisoner, bladestaff clutched firmly in both hands. Oh no.

Feeling one of the vines wrap around his ankle, Lloyd yanked out of its grip before dashing forward. He felt something brush his arm – another vine, maybe – but he took no notice of it. She was almost to them. He couldn't make it there in time. Instead, he skidded to a stop and charged a ball of energy, taking aim. He could kill her. But, somehow, his foot slipped as he threw, his shot going far wide and harmlessly colliding with a stone wall. Oh no. Oh no no no. He charged another ball, but it was too late, and he could only watch in horror as Bansha stabbed Indigo's son through the heart.

Two identical screams rang out through the courtyard.

* * *

 **I just killed a child**

 **~FFF**


	63. Chapter 63

***maniacal laugh***

 ***clears throat* excuse me sorry about that**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: He's not _dead_ dead. No one is _dead_ dead. Except Misako xd can't forget her. Also, the ghosts are quite capable of setting bales of hay of fire and catapulting them, as well as large rocks, at where they know the ninja are hiding. Also, when a bunch of giant rocks hit the ground, it feels a little bit like an earthquake. Or... ninjagoquake?**

 **Kitkat: Bansha gets progressively worse. Good point. They probably just threw them in the ocean.**

 **Entity: Yes I am. Also maybe. Possibly.**

 **NinjagoMLP: That... doesn't make sense. Since I killed them with the bad guys. xDD**

 **Emobilcipher: I didn't want to eat, or do school, or write, or even play games. I just didn't have any motivation to do anything. And I wanted to die. Also, Morro's kind of too busy being strangled to save anyone. Yeah, I'm actually having trouble drawing the new him. He just looks so WEIRD. You mean... Voldemort? Or Bill? Have fun on fall break!**

 **For best results, listen to Heart of Courage by Two Steps from Hell while reading the first part.**

* * *

"NO!" Indigo screamed, skidding to a halt at the edge of the courtyard as Bansha yanked her blade out of Simon's corpse. That *****! She knew what they were planning! She was never going to release her double and her family, that was just a trick to lure them in! She _hated_ Bansha! If only she had gotten here sooner, if only she was more powerful!

She had to stop her, before she killed her double and Owen too. But how could she, the courtyard was full of ghosts, and her powers only worked at short range! For a fleeting second, she thought about reaching her true potential, like the ninja had told her about, but she had no idea how to do that.

Bansha was yelling something, and suddenly every guard in the courtyard was running at her. Scrambling back, the void mistress caught a glimpse of Lloyd being surrounded by guards, who tackled him to the ground. Indigo turned to run, but there were guards coming from behind her too. She could surrender, or she could fight.

Quickly coming to a decision, Indigo turned and attacked the nearest ghost, draining his energy and using the speed boost to attack the rest. So far she was taking them down faster than they could attack her, but they were quickly overwhelming her. ****ing Bansha! She hated her! She hated her, and every one of her guards, and the Preeminent, and-

…wait.

Indigo nearly stumbled as she came to an abrupt realization. That was it. That's what was holding her back. All of her anger and hatred, at her parents for not being there for her, at the men who killed Cora, at Morro for hurting her and her friends, at Bansha for tricking them, even anger at her friends, even at her Morro, for little insignificant things that rubbed her the wrong way. She was angry at so many people, and held a grudge forever. That's what held her back.

One of the guards landed a hit on her and she fell, two guards grabbing her by the arms and dragging her towards Bansha. As they neared the platform, the void master lifted her head, meeting Bansha's eyes and whispering,

"I forgive you."

The courtyard exploded with light.

TheDarknessReturn

Morro struggled weakly in the vines' grasp, watching in horror as Indigo, the only one left still fighting, was brought down and dragged towards Bansha. No. Now they were all their prisoners… The vine around his throat tightened, cutting off his air supply, though the vine over his face already did a good job of that. Were they going to kill him? No, he couldn't die! Not again! White light lit up the courtyard for a moment, but he barely registered it with the darkness encroaching on his vision.

Then, to his shock, the vines went limp, dropping to the ground and loosening their hold on his neck. Gasping for air, the wind master pulled free, then looked up to see what had happened. As soon as he did, he froze in shock. A brilliant purple figure floated above the crowd of ghosts, long hair floating as if weightless around her head. White dots danced across her skin like stars, and pure white light spilled from her eyes.

"Indigo?" He heard Lloyd exclaim in shock. That was _Indigo?_ She must have reached her true potential! The figure looked over at them, then turned back to Bansha, hand outstretched towards the blademistress. Then she _vaporized_ her. The older ghost just vanished in a puff of smoke, her staff falling the ground before following suit a moment later.

As Morro looked on with wide eyes, Indigo turned in midair, then did the same to the crowd, ghosts vanishing dozens at a time until only she and one other ghost was left. The other ghost stood at the very edge of the courtyard, hands outstretched in front of him in a sign of surrender. Morro soon realized why– it was his double. Indigo stared at her boyfriend for a few, long moments, and Morro was afraid that she didn't recognize him. Then, like a candle flickering out, she turned back to her normal form and crumpled to the ground.

Shouting her name, her boyfriend dashed across the courtyard towards her, kneeling next to her still form and lifting her head. Shaking his head, Morro turned to look for Nicole, who he soon spotted sitting up a few feet away and rubbing her neck. The others looked to be alright too, even Lloyd, who was sporting a few bruises from the guards' treatment but otherwise looked unharmed. Everyone was safe, except…

His eyes wandered to the center of the courtyard, where Indigo A and her husband were chained with their backs to each other. Kneeling next to them was a little boy, their son. A ghost. Morro sighed, running his fingers through his short hair. If they couldn't find some way to reverse it, their son would be stuck in a child's body forever. That would be so weird.

It was then that he noticed the distant rushing of water.

"Oh no." He said aloud, scrambling to his feet. His double, Indigo, the kid, they were all ghosts. They would be killed. Running towards Lloyd, he yelled, "Lloyd, do you hear that?" From the look on his face, he had.

"We need to get everyone out of here!" The blond got to his feet, stumbling a bit and clutching his arm. He was hurt. "Everyone who has a dragon, use it! Carry those who don't to safety!" He yelled towards the rest of their team. The others obeyed, Kai, Garmadon, and Dyana summoning their dragons. After Nicole scrambled on behind Dyana, they took off. Lloyd turned to Morro, eyes wide with alarm. "Morro, Indigo, and Simon are ghosts. What are we gonna do?"

"My double and I can fly them to safety. Go with the others."

"What about Indigo 2 and her husband?"

"We'll bring them someplace high and wait it out. Go!" Morro shooed him away, then ran towards the kid. Him and his parents looked up at him in surprise as he approached, but they didn't seem to recognize him. Good.

"The city is being flooded." He said bluntly as soon as he was within earshot. "I'm sure you know ghosts are killed by water. Come with me, kid. Hurry!" Simon looked at his parents, and they nodded, so he came towards him. When Morro tried to pick him up, though, he was incorporeal. The wind master cursed under his breath. "I can't touch you, you don't know how to make yourself solid." He explained to the boy before yelling to his double, "Hey! The kid is incorporeal, I need you to fly him to safety!" His double looked up at him in surprise, then down at Indigo, then up at him again.

"But what about-"

"I'll take care of Indigo." Morro interrupted. The rushing water was getting louder. "Just do it!" The other him hesitated. "Please, you have to trust me!" Finally, his double stood, then ran over and scooped up Simon, shooting high into the sky on a gust of wind. Turning away from the boy's parents, Morro ran towards the small body on the ground, skidding to a halt beside her. Indigo's eyes were half open, and she was staring blankly at the sky. Kneeling down and grabbing her arm, he said,

"Indigo, remember what you said about possessing me so you wouldn't get killed in the flood?" She blinked up at him and frowned.

"Uhh… yeah?"

"Do it." He ordered. She didn't protest, grabbing his wrist and possessing him. He staggered a bit as the cold feeling hit him, but, as Indigo made no move to take control, he got back to his feet. He could see the water now, an eight-foot wave hurtling down the street towards them. He had to get Indigo's double and her husband out of there. He started towards them, but jumped in surprise when Indigo spoke in his head.

"Owen." She corrected him. "His name is Owen."

"Okay, whatever." He said aloud, then started towards them again. He tried to snap their chains, but they were too strong, so instead he untangled their cuffs from each other and grabbed both of them by the arm, leaping into the air and flying to the top of a building with them. He was tiring very quickly, Indigo was taking some of his energy. He was afraid he might drop them, but he managed to produce a last burst of energy that got him to his target. Once they arrived, he dropped them, letting himself crumple to the ground in exhaustion. The last thing he heard was Indigo speaking softly in his head before he passed out.

* * *

 ***wipes tear away from eye* my little baby, off to destroy people**

 **~FFF**


	64. Chapter 64

**I'm kinda disappointed with the reactions to the last chapter. Turns out the little voice in the back of my head saying no one likes Indigo anyway was partially right.**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: Bad guys can't take a hint.**

 **Entity: Oh, eventually. If they're lucky. And yes, that reminds me.**

 **Nicktastic: If it didn't it would be boring.**

 **Zena: But Owen... didn't do anything.**

* * *

"I am _so_ sorry." Nya A apologized for the fifth time. "Really, we had no idea you two went in there. If we had…"

"It's fine, really." Indigo held up a hand to stop her. "It's for the best, after all. If you hadn't flooded the city, I wouldn't have gotten to poke around in Morro's head." The wind master glared at her.

"I _saved_ your _life._ " He said irritably. "I did not 'let you poke around in my head'. Doing that was just rude."

"Hey, I saved _your_ life two minutes before that." The void mistress shot back. "So that makes us even."

"Hmph. I guess." Morro folded his arms. After he had passed out, Indigo had apparently used his body to keep Indigo A and Owen from falling off the rooftop when the Nyas sloshed water over it in an attempt to get rid of all the ghosts. Then, all the good guys had gathered in the courtyard, and, after the water masters dried a space for the ghosts to stand in, they had explained everything. The Nyas were horrified that they almost killed three of the good guys, and had apologized over and over again. Despite everything that went wrong, though, the city was theirs.

"When do we get an explanation of exactly what happened there, Indigo?" Nicole spoke up. The dream mistress was fascinated by Indigo's true potential, since she had never reached hers or seen one before.

"Well.. I was really really mad at Bansha, 'cause she killed Simon." Indigo nodded towards the kid, who was sitting with his parents on the other side of the room. "And all I could think about was how much I hated her. But then it occurred to me that that's what was keeping me from reaching my full potential. I had a grudge against basically everyone. So I forgave people and then I started glowing and stuff."

"How'd you make all the ghosts poof?" Nicole asked, listening intently.

"I drained their energy. All of it. Ghosts basically run on it, so without it they die. And in my true potential form, I can drain energy from multiple targets at a time, without touching them. I did it to Gray too – except he didn't die, he just conked out. He must have gotten washed away in the flood."

"Good riddance." Morro muttered.

"Your powers are permanently stronger after your true potential." Kai B said from where he leaned against the wall. "Maybe you can still take energy without touching people."

"Hmm." Indigo reached out towards Morro, who cringed, but nothing happened. "Guess not."

"Guess not." Kai agreed. "Maybe you can just drain energy faster or something."

"Maybe." Indigo shrugged. "So what now?"

"Next, we should take-" Kai was interrupted by Lloyd B coming into the room, looking frustrated.

"We have a problem." He said loudly. Once he had everyone's attention, he continued. "When the Preeminent ruled this city, she sometimes had people killed for defying her. They became ghosts, but then they were allowed to return to their families. When we flooded the city, we killed all those people." The Nyas flinched. "There are a bunch of angry people outside. What do we do?"

"Promise we'll get them their loved ones back once we get the Preeminent killed, for starters." Lloyd's father said.

"I'm not sure if they'll be satisfied with that." The blond frowned.

"Well… tell them that their loved ones would be happy to sacrifice themselves if they knew it meant their friends and family would be safe." Garmadon knew that firsthand. He did exactly that.

"Okay." Lloyd turned to leave, and Morro B followed him out. As Kai began detailing ideas for their next move, Indigo stood up, grabbed Morro's arm, and lead him over to the far side of the room.

"Hey, what are you-" He started, but she interrupted him.

"Believe it or not, it was a good thing for you that I got to poke around in your head." He blushed a bit, frowning.

"Why's that?"

"Cause now I know I can trust you." She said simply, then walked away. "Oh, and Nicole likes you too." She said over her shoulder.

"She- she what?" He exclaimed, then quickly lowered his voice as he remembered the girl in question was nearby.

"Likes you." Indigo repeated. "Romantically. Make your move already, you're worse than Lloyd and Jessica." He blushed harder, but fortunately it looked like Nicole wasn't looking. She… liked him back? Or Indigo was just messing with him. He was too shy to take the chance.

He needed a breath of fresh air. Quietly, he left the room, making his way through the palace where they had made their base. After a couple minutes, he arrived at a side exit, where he slipped out onto the streets. He walked around a block a couple times, listening to the sounds of people, sounds of life. It was never like this when he was in charge.

After a few minutes, he felt a tickle on his arm, and looked down to see a thin vine coiling around it. What the…?

A moment later, it yanked him to the side and his head slammed against the side of a building. Everything went black.

TheDarknessReturn

"Wakey wakey kingy kingy! Wakey wakey! Wakey! Wake up! Hey! Wake up! Hello! Helloooooooooooooo! Wake up! Why isn't he waking up? Gray, why isn't he waking up?" A sigh. "Come on, Gray, you're not fooling anyone. I know you can talk."

"I never said I couldn't talk."

"Then why didn't you answer me?"

"He's _unconscious,_ Claire. I slammed him against a wall. Saying 'wake up' over and over isn't going to make him wake up any sooner." His head _hurt_. Morro groaned as pain stabbed through him, trying to reach up and rub his head but finding himself unable to move.

"Aha! You were wrong! He's awake now, see?"

"That's a fallacy! Just because A happened before B doesn't mean A caused B!"

"Spare me your pathetic 'logic', Gray." Morro opened his eyes to see why he couldn't move, and gasped in alarm as he saw dozens of vines wrapped around him. He couldn't move an inch.

"Well good morning sleepyhead." The wind master lifted his head to see two figures standing in front of him, a girl with two black braids and a boy in a grey hoodie. Claire and Grey, the masters of jinx and plants. The pair that once delivered Lloyd and Morro B to him.

"What do you want with me?" He asked softly, trying to keep his voice from wavering.

"You just get right to the point, don't you?" Claire sighed. "Well, quite frankly, we have orders to kill you." Morro's eyes went wide. "But, honestly, we're a much bigger fan of money than doing what the Preeminent says, so first we're going to send a ransom demand to your buddies. And, well, if they don't give us enough money in time, we'll kill you. Sound cool?" Morro just stared for a few moments. The ninja… they didn't really _have_ any money. Or very little, anyway. If they didn't give them what they wanted or rescued him in time… "Aw, you look so scared. Cheer up, all it's gonna do is turn you into a ghost."

"That's worse." The dark-haired boy whispered. "The only reason the Preeminent would want me dead is so she could torture me." His captor blinked.

"Man, it must suck to be you." She remarked. "Oh well. Better hope your friends are generous!" She walked away, snapping her fingers, and Gray followed. As soon as they were out of the room, Morro began to struggle, but the vines only tightened around him, one slithering up and loosely wrapping around his neck. He didn't dare struggle anymore after that. Claire was right, he could only hope the others did something. There was no way he could escape on his own. Lloyd, please don't leave me here…

* * *

 **I swear I'm not torturing him just for the sake of torturing him this is important for the plot**

 **In other news, I don't suppose you guys would mind helping me name chapters, would you? Like, just reading the old chapters when you get a chance and sending me name suggestions? I'm often too frazzled after writing for hours to come up with decent names.**

 **~FFF**


	65. Chapter 65

***pops out of the abyss* I RETURN**

 **Where did I go? Nobody knows**

 **Review replies:**

 **Kitkat: Eh, I can understand that.**

 **Nicktastic: Those two. Tch tch.**

 **Ebony: Well people are currently giving them free supplies since they're trying to save the world.**

 **Entity: Anytime you happen to think one up xd And yes. I actually wrote a fic once where I'm actively in my characters' world with ultimate power, and they're aware that I ruin their lives on a regular basis. They're not impressed. And I don't plan to post it. xd**

 **NinjagoMLP: It's cool xd**

 **FormerEMObilcipher: Well that sucks. And I mean, Bill is at least limited in affecting dreams, right? Wasn't there some horror villain who could control dreams? Freddy Kruger or something.**

* * *

"We have teams setting up defenses on the south and west walls, and the east wall is already finished." Lloyd tapped the line that represented a wall on his map. "And the Coles and Kais are arming civilians with water supplied by the Nyas, we should be ready to defend against a full-scale attack by tomorrow evening."

"Good." Morro 1 nodded, one hand on his chin as he stared at the map. "I'm not sure exactly how long it will take for the Preeminent to ready her forces again, but it will be a couple days at least. We have time."

"Great. Do you think your double would be able to tell us exactly how long it will take for them to get back?"

"Maybe. Nicole, would you go find him and have him come here?" The dream mistress nodded and ran off. "What do we do after we're finished preparing? Just wait for them to attack?"

"No, I was thinking…" Lloyd pushed the top map aside, revealing a map of Ninjago island underneath. "The ghosts had three strongholds: here, Stiix, and Jamonikai village. We've captured two of those, so they'll likely regroup at Jamonikai, which will be difficult for us to attack due to its high altitude. They have the high ground. However, it is also fairly small, so they might not be able to keep their whole army there, and be forced to camp them in the plains below instead. If so, we could attack the cillage from behind, then free it since it's cut off from most of the army. That will force the ghosts to regroup somewhere at the mercy of the elements. Any questions?"

"While that seems like a good plan…" Morro started. "How are we going to get rid of them for good?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe we can use the Realm Crystal to make a portal and send The Preeminent back to her own Realm?"

"Not easily. Making a portal strong enough to transport her take the better part of an hour, and it would be difficult to force something of her size inside."

"Then scratch that. Maybe we could kill her?"

"It took Nya's true potential last time, and I don't know if we could trigger that at the right moment, much less get the Preeminent out to sea."

"But maybe both Nyas together could create the same effect? If we could lure her out there?"

"It's possible." Lloyd opened his mouth to continue, but he was interrupted by Nicole returning. Alone.

"I didn't find Morro." Her voice was cold and hard. "But I did find this." She held out a folded slip of paper towards Lloyd, who took it, apprehensive. He unfolded it, skimming the contents, and his eyes widened.

"It's a ransom note. For Morro 2." He looked up at his Morro. "It's from Gray and Claire. They want $5,000 for him by three days from now, or… they'll kill him." On the other side of the room, Indigo gasped.

"Oh no. But we can't pay that much! We're broke!"

"Basically, yeah." Lloyd read the note over again. "They want us to deliver the money to an alley about a mile from here. He must be imprisoned somewhere around there. Indigo, Morro, can you scout out that area, invisible? See if you can locate him?" The two nodded, but Jay 1 frowned.

"I mean, why can't we just leave him? If they kill him, he'll just turn back into a ghost."

"Yes, Jay, but that means the Preeminent will be able to get in his head again." Lloyd glared a bit. "And not only will she be able to hurt him, but she'll also learn all our plans that he knows." Jay lowered his head.

"Oh."

"If we can find him, what should we do?" Indigo asked.

"If you can find an easy way to get him out undetected, do it . If not, just come back and report. We'll go out there as a group and bust him out."

"Right." Morro nodded, and the two left the room. Lloyd sighed, skimming the note one more time. Those two were reckless. How did they manage to kidnap Morro right out from under their noses? Whatever the case, those two were smart, but not smart enough. They would get Morro back. For both his sake and theirs, they had to.

TheDarknessReturn

Stupid vines.

Morro sat slumped against the hideout wall, chin resting on the thick vine around his shoulders. The only movement he could make was lifting his head, and there was no point in doing so, so he stayed still and silent. How long had it been since he had been kidnapped? A day? Did Lloyd know yet? Did he know what to do?

He was going to die here, wasn't he? The ninja couldn't come up with all that money if they tried, and they didn't know where he was. Even if they did somehow find him, Gray would probably strangle him before they could get to him. There was no way out of this.

He was scared. Scared of dying again, but mostly scared of the Preeminent. She would do horrible things to him once he was a ghost again. When they did kill him, they'd probably dump a bucket of water on him as well, so he'd be sent back. Then the Preeminent could do whatever she pleased with him. Which would undoubtedly be painful.

He bit his lip, fighting the urge to struggle. The vines that trapped him weren't uncomfortable tight, but if he struggled they would react, coiling tighter. If he was still for a while, they would loosen, but it wasn't worth it, especially the feeling of the one on his neck within an inch of taking his life. Having it on his neck, even loosely, unnerved him. A constant reminder of what they planned to do to him.

"Psst." Morro jumped at the voice, head jerking up in surprise. Who…? "It's Indigo. I'm invisible."

"Indigo?" He whispered. "How did you…?" The vines tightened a bit and he gasped.

"It's a long story. But don't worry, we're gonna come and get you out. Just as soon as we get Lloyd."

"W… we?" He whispered hoarsely.

"I'm here too." Another voice said – his own. His double. "Just stay quiet, okay? We're gonna go get the rest of the team."

"O-okay." He heard faint footsteps retreating, then nothing. He struggled to calm his breathing, to keep the vines from tightening further, but his chest swelled with hope. They knew where he was! They were coming! As long as Gray didn't kill him before they got here, he was going to be alright.

TheDarknessReturn

Reena knelt on one knee, staring at the ground with respect for her mistress. In front of her, the giant creature pulsed slowly, saying nothing for a long while.

" _Bansha has failed me_." The Preeminent said at last. Reena nodded.

"I know."

" _She has been imprisoned for her disgrace. This leaves my armies without a leader._ "

"Yes." Reena refused to jump to conclusions as to what she was getting at.

" _You will be her replacement._ " The illusionist's eyes widened, though she didn't look up from the ground.

"I…"

" _You are loyal to the Cursed Realm, more so than even some of my own. You are intelligent and crafty, and you handled yourself well under Morro and Bansha. There is only one way in that you do not fit the criteria to be Ninjago's next queen._ "

"And… that is?"

" _You are not a ghost._ " The Preeminent replied simply. Of course. " _However, that can be easily remedied._ " Reena nodded.

"It can." She heard footsteps, and she looked up to see a ghost approaching her with a dagger. He held it out towards her, and she accepted it.

" _You know what must be done, then. Are you prepared to give up your mortal life to further my cause, Reena Johnson?_ " The illusionist nodded, standing up straight. Then she took the dagger and stabbed herself through the heart.

* * *

 **The Preeminent goes through rulers impressively fast.**

 **Anyway, uhhh... if you haven't already, check out my new fic, Oh the Things we Could Do, a self-insert fic with a brief explanation of why I've been in the abyss.**

 **~FFF**


	66. Chapter 66

**( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

 **Review replies:**

 **Entity: #AbyssBuddies xd Sad about your fic or just in general? "Randoming the protagonists". Okay. And yeah, that's basically how I act in those fics.**

 **Ebony: *maniacal laugh* Let's go with like... dead slave. That's pretty accurate, wouldn't you say?**

 **Kat: *maniacal laugh***

 **NinjagoMLP: I know, right?**

 **Nicktastic: Yeah, a real first for me, huh? Never before have I written anything so dark.**

 **Draconis: Not really, I mean you can still review. Nah, she just kinda stalks everyone and makes a mental list of who should be the next leader when she gets rid of the current one.**

* * *

Lloyd crouched behind a trash can in the alley next to Claire and Gray's base, waiting with Nicole for Morro and Indigo to give them the signal. This would actually be fairly simple.

The two would-be kidnappers had given away their location in the ransom note, and had been easily tracked down. Now, with two ghosts on their side, Lloyd was confident their opponents didn't have a chance. As long as they didn't hold a gun to Morro's head or something. But, if all went well, they wouldn't have a chance.

Nicole crouched beside him, watching the entrance of the alley intently. Lloyd wasn't sure why, but she had insisted on coming along, despite her lack of an element that was actually useful in battle. Indigo seemed to know something he didn't, since she vouched for the dream mistress when the blond expressed doubt in her ability to defend herself. Lloyd himself was still a bit suspicious of her, since she had confessed her ability to slyly insert her own ideas into others' heads.

Ahead, a figure appeared at the end of the alleyway – Morro 1 – and waved. That was the signal. Setting to his feet, Lloyd pulled on his ninja hood and hurried down to join Morro, Nicole at his heels. Time to get Morro 2 out of there.

TheDarknessReturn

Morro stared silently at the far wall of his prison, eyes half open as he kept himself from making a move. He didn't want to alert his captors that something was different.

It had been a few hours since his double and Indigo were here. Lloyd would be here soon, wouldn't he? How did they find him in the first place, he wondered? It didn't matter right now. All that mattered was soon enough, he would be free.

The door opened, and he raised his head a bit to see Gray entering the room. The boy looked at him, then scoffed.

"Don't look so hopeful. Your friends aren't here for you yet." He seemed pretty sure they would go through with the exchange. Morro was silent, looking back at the ground. "You have a pretty good life, you know that?" Morro looked up at him in confusion. "You were king. You ruled the _universe._ Then, when you got fired, you just switched sides, easy as that." Morro frowned.

"It… wasn't that simple."  
"Still, you're privledged. When your side starts to lose, you just go to the winning side." Gray sat down in midair, and vines grew up as a seat underneath him. "Some of us aren't so lucky." Morro stayed silent. He wanted to correct him, but it sounded like his captor wanted to vent. "I used to be a law-abiding citizen of Ninjago. I had a job, a home, a girlfriend." A vine coiled up his arm, then stopped in his hand and a flower blossomed on it. "Then they killed her." He crushed the flower in his fist.

"She was plotting to overthrow the government, so they had her killed. Self-rightous ****s. Murder is illegal, unless they're the ones doing it." He chuckled softly. "You were a good leader, you know? You lied, you cheated, stole and murdered, but at least you were open about it. You didn't shoot through windows in the dead of night, then cover it up like nothing ever happened. Yes. I like you." He sighed, letting the flower grow again. "And here I am, working for your master. The queen of lies and manipulation. It really is too bad." He looked up at Morro. "Too bad I have to kill you."

A soft thud sounded in the other room.

Gray's head jerked up, and he thrust a hand towards Morro, a thick vine growing to cover the wind master's mouth. The boy stood as Moro jerked back in surprise, hurrying out of the room. Moments later, all the vines went slack.

"Morro!" Lloyd burst in through the door as Morro struggled to untangle himself, having trouble due to the sheer number of vines. "Are you okay?" He asked, kneeling beside the tangle of vines as Morro B and Indigo followed him in.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I have a bump on my head from being thrown against a wall, but otherwise I'm okay." The blond helped him untangle himself, then gave him a quick hug before pulling him to his feet.

"Let's get out of here." He instructed.

"Wait." Indigo spoke up, putting up a hand with a frown. "What happened to Nicole?"

TheDarknessReturn

Nicole pressed herself against a wall, waiting for the footsteps to pass by before going around the corner after them. What was she doing? Nothing smart. But she had seen Claire go this way, and she was determined to take her out. Maybe that would prove her trustworthy to the ninja. Probably not, but hey, a girl can dream.

Nicole followed Claire through the base, then finally came to… a dead end? Where did Claire go? Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and spun around in surprise.

"Hey." Claire grinned, waving. Instantly, Nicole threw a punch, but somehow she missed completely, falling off balance. "Aw, that looked like a good punch." The other girl strode right past her into the dead-end room. "Got any more?" Regaining her balance, Nicole charged at her opponent and swung again, but once again she missed completely without Claire even needing to dodge. She tried to kick her, but she messed it up too. "Honey, you can try to attack me as many times as you like." Claire said with a laugh. "You won't be able to hit me." Nicole stopped, taking a defensive stance.

"How… how are you…"

"I'm the elemental master of jinx! That's bad luck, sweetie, and it means you can't do a thing to me. One touch renders you helpless in attacking…" She drew a fist back. "…or defending." Nicole tried to block her punch, but it caught her right in the eye and she let out a gasp. That hurt. Claire swung again, and Nicole tried to dodge, but her foot slipped and she crashed to the ground. Claire kicked her in the stomach before she could get up, and she grunted in pain.

Nicole scrambled to her feet and tried to flee, but she slipped again. Stalking up to her, Claire grabbed her by the front of the shirt and slammed her against the wall. She was so… strong! "I don't know how you found us, kid, but now we have _two_ hostages instead of just one! Isn't that great?" Claire laughed, still holding her against the wall. "Thanks! This makes my job that much easier!"

Then a metal fist cracked against the side of Claire's head.

"Ow!" Morro A yelped as Claire crumpled to the ground, grabbing his left hand with his right. "Ow, ow. I guess I need to talk to the Nyas about getting some cushioning for this thing." He muttered, still staring at Claire. Then his gaze shifted to Nicole and he gasped. "Nicole, your eye…! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded, rubbing her eye which was undoubtedly bruising. Morro offered her a hand up – his right one – and she accepted it, letting him pull her to her feet. Standing here against, the wall, faces inches apart, Nicole couldn't resist. She put a hand on the back of Morro's head and pulled it down towards her, kissing him as hard as she could.

For a few seconds, Morro was still, not reacting until she pulled away and looked up at him. Then he leaned down and kissed her back.

TheDarknessReturn

Gray and Claire were chained with vengestone and dragged back to the castle, where they were thrown in the dungeon. Morro 2 and the ninja exchanged stories, the former king explaining how he was kidnapped and the ninja explaining how they found him. Morro and Nicole seemed oddly happy, Lloyd noticed, happier than one would expect after being kidnapped/given a black eye. And Indigo kept giggling about something, but she refused to tell him what it was. Whatever.

With the immediate danger out of the way, the ninja could get back to their main objective: figuring out how to kill the Preeminent.

* * *

 **Morro and Indigo: Heartfelt, awkward prison confession of love**

 **Lloyd and Jessica: Drawn out, shy confession of love**

 **Morro and Nicole: What's a confession we just smooch**

 **Aaaaaanyway, tomorrow night I have an all-nighter at my youth group, so you might not get an update tomorrow, and you probably won't get an update the day after.**

 **~FFF**


	67. Chapter 67

**I** ** _LIVE_**

 **...so... NaNoWriMo was hecking hard. But I'm finished! Two days early! I would have finished way earlier if I had been focused, but eh. Now I can work on fanfictions again!**

 **Review replies:**

 **Entity: Thank you. Someone needs to get rid of that heck.**

 **KitKat: Yay! And Daggerclaws 1 stayed in the original timeline, Daggerclaws 2 is slinking around Ninjago city somewhere. Fortunately for him, even evil Morro liked cats.**

 **Kat: Yay!**

 **NinjagoMLP: Poor guy has issues.**

 **Ebony: Yeah, that could have gone way worse. And yeah, open murders are way better! Reena, shut up. You'll get your turn.**

 **Nicktastic: *ok emoji***

 **Windy: I hope you had fun! I'm going to a laser tag thing next week!**

* * *

"Alright, so, our first problem is Bansha and her army." Lloyd pointed to the map that was lying on the table. "Like we previously discussed, she's probably holed up in Jamonikai, since that's the last of the three strongholds. We lost time due to Morro 2 getting kidnapped, so we might have to scratch our original plan, attacking them from behind, if they've already started towards the city. Now we'll have to defend."

"But if most of the army is heading towards the city, won't that leave Jamonikai vulnerable?" Morro 2 pointed out.

"Yeah, but what good is it if we're all needed here?"

"Are we? The defenses are strong, aren't they? Couldn't we spare a small group to take Jamonikai? Even the Preeminent has limited forces. The more there are here, the less there are there." Slowly, Lloyd nodded.

"Good point. Maybe we could send one Nya to Jamonikai, and leave one to defend. That should be enough, right?"

"But what if they attack Stiix?" Dyana spoke up. "They can't defend against a full-scale attack there." The blond frowned.

"Also a good point. We might have to station a Nya there instead. But, then we don't have one for the strike team." Lloyd sighed, letting his chin drop into his hands. "If only we had more water masters."

"We could go timeline-hopping and find one." Cole 2 suggested.

"No, there's a chance we wouldn't be able to get them back. We shouldn't risk it." Lloyd shook his head. "Well… one of the Nyas should go to Stiix. Does one of you want to go, or should I Just pick one?" The water mistresses exchanged glances, then Nya 2 raised her hand.

"I'll go."

"Good. Explain to the others what happened when you get there." Nya nodded, then turend and left. "Everyone else, meeting adjourned for now. Go do a once-over of the city and the surrounding area. I don't want Bansha sneaking up on us. I'm going to think." Most of them nodded and left, but Morro 2 stayed in his seat, staring at the floor. "You okay?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah." He replied. "Just thinking about other timelines."

"You look pretty sullen. Is that all?"

"It's just… there are an infinite number of timelines, right?" The blond nodded. "So, while there must be millions of god timelines, there must also be millions of bad ones. Versious of us suffering, dying. And they're all unique people." Lloyd stared at him. That… was pretty sad. "And even if we tried to help them, it would just create more timelines." Morro continued. "Ones where we made the wrong decision, or someone out-thought us, and then those ones would be bad.

"And you've been here for weeks, trying to save just one dimension! Imagine how long it would take to save hundreds, knowing that whatever you did, you only made more people suffer?" Lloyd shook his head, frowning.

"I don't think that's how it works. Those new timelines would be created anyway, for reasons as meaningless as what color shirt some random person decided to wear that morning. Us helping would make one more universe good, out of the billions out there." Morro nodded slightly.

"I guess. But… doesn't it just feel meaningless? That no matter what you do here, somewhere else people are suffering like you were never here?" The green ninja was silent for a few moments.

"Kinda." He said at last. "But those others… they're not us. They might be a lot like us, but they're not us. I care about _you_. Not the 20 billion other versions of you, you. And Andreea, and Nicole, and Dyana, and Kai, and Everyone. _You guys_ are my friends, because of what happened in _this_ timeline. No number of alternate dimensions will change that." Morro was silent for a few moments.

"I… guess that makes sense?"

"Of course it does." Lloyd ruffled his hair, and Morro smacked him. "Ow."

"Oh be quiet. I didn't hit you that hard." The wind master dodged his hand as the blond tried to smack him back, quickly standing up and backing away. "Well, I think I'll go… patrol. See ya!" He left the room, grinning. Lloyd shook his head in exasperation, then seated himself at the table, resting his chin in his hand. What in the world were they going to do about the Preeminent?

* * *

 **me: *doesn't update for a month***

 **me: *finally appears with like half a chapter***

 **Oof. Still trying to get back in the hang of writing this thing. I don't remember if I had any plans for it or not.**

 **~FFF**

 **P.S. Not proofread. I'm tired.**


	68. Chapter 68

**Have another half chapter**

 **So uhh... my mom has been having me watch a bunch of movies for school, and I do that at night when I would usually write, so... been hard finding time.**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: Don't worry. I'm only _mostly_ dead.**

 **Entity: Oh heck, that's a long chapter. xD Nothing bad. He's human now. And just like in the RttCR timeline, the ghosts will all be fine. Heck canon.**

 **NinjagoMLP: Should I be glad**

 **Kitkat: I mean same**

 **The Mayor of Ninjago City: Gosh ikr**

 **Draconis: Yep!**

* * *

Chapter 68

"So they're already coming." Lloyd B muttered, leaning precariously back in his chair with his feet on the desk in front of him.

"Lloyd, you're going to fall over backwards." Nya B pointed out.

"I am not." The blond turned to glare at her, and immediately his chair lost its balance and he fell with a crash. "The first one to laugh gets a pencil thrown at them." Lloyd muttered from the floor, followed instantly by Morro B snickering. When the blond followed through with his threat, he groaned as the pencil went through him.

"Nice try." The ghost shrugged. Lloyd pointed an accusatory finger at him.

"If we weren't in the middle of a really serious meeting right now, I'd come over there and make you pay for that comment."

"Okay."

"Good job setting the mood, Lloyd." Dyana called over, and Lloyd threw a pencil at her too.

"Can we be serious now?" Indigo B broke in. "In case you'd forgotten, there's a huge army of ghosts marching towards the city."

"Alright, alright." Lloyd got up and seated himself again. "So, we can hold this city easily. We have strong defenses, the wind masters, and a water master. Stiix can be held too, since the Nya there has unlimited water to work with. But the ghosts will just come back. So eventually we have to get rid of the Preeminent, obviously. The question is, how?"

"If we could lure her to the ocean, we could maybe drown her." Morro suggested. "But I don't know what we could lure her with."

"The Realm Crystal?" Cole A spoke up.

"Maybe. But how exactly would we go about it?" Dyana asked. "'Hey Preeminent! Look! A Realm Crystal! Go get it! Go fetch!'" She mimed throwing something, and there was snickering from most of the occupants of the room. "Nah, she's not that dumb."

"What about my double?" Morro B suggested. "She went to great lengths to try to get him killed." Morro clenched his fists at the memory, and Nicole rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Again, how do we communicate that to her? Yell really loudly, 'I GUESS WE'LL JUST SEND…' uh… 'MORRO A OUT TO SEA… THAT GOOD SALTY AIR… GOOD FOR HIS LUNGS.'" Dyana cupped her hands around her mouth as she mock-yelled, eliciting more snickering from the others.

"I meant, like, 'accidently' drop a note where one of the soldiers could find it, saying we're sending him to Stiix for safety." Morro B shook his head. "You're right. It won't work. She'd just send more minions."

"That's a good point." Lloyd cupped his chin in his hand. "What _would_ be important enough for the Preeminent herself to come for?"

"I can't think of anything." Morro B admitted. "She has no reason to. She's smart enough to not put herself in a dangerous situation, and she can just send her ghosts to do anything she could. She has no reason to take risks."

"The only time I can think of is if she really needs to win a battle." Morro spoke up. "The closer she is to it, the sooner killed ghosts can get back into the fight. But she would only fight that hard is if she was sure she could beat us."

"And it's very unlikely she would go all-in on us now." Lloyd pointed out. "Even if we lost the city, we could easily fall back to Stiix."

"Good point." Cole A shook his head. "And she won't besiege Stiix, it's too well-defended. And we could fall back to here."

"That's it!" Indigo exclaimed, shooting to her feet.

"What's it?" Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow.

"If we want to win," The ghost girl explained, "We have to lose."

TheDarknessReturn

"Come on, Robin." Ronin coaxed his daughter, catching her by the hand to keep her from running off. The toddler only giggled and ran the other way.

"Honey, come here." Tara scooped the little girl up, bouncing her so she wouldn't complain.

"Thanks, sweetheart." Ronin gave his wife a kiss on the cheek before leading them and their guests down a side alley. "We're almost there. It'll only be a few more minutes." He called over his shoulder.

"Good." Ray and his wife exchanged smiles. "Maya and I can't wait to see our kids again."

* * *

 **IT'S THEM**

 **~FFF**


	69. Chapter 69

**"how many chapters do you have"**

 **"69"**

 **"oho you know what that means"**

 **"*tearfully* I don't have enough chapters for chicken nuggets"**

 **Uhh so... hi! It's an update! I've been mainly updating my other story, Oh the Things we Could Do, so if you haven't checked that out yet, it's much less OC heavy and still pretty good.**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: Ray and Maya were kidnapped by Krux waaaaaaaaay before possession. It's not like they poofed into existence in season 7.**

 **Guest: Haha me too.**

 **Guest 2: I'll try to get some for you!**

 **FlyingLemonCat: Haha yesss, their relationship went much better in this timeline. Also, Madilyn is the name of a kid who went to the VBS I was volunteering at lol.**

 **cmonpeeps: I'm guessing you're the same person as guest 2, and I'll work on it!**

 **and Israa, in case you read this: You have PMs off, so I couldn't reply directly, and sure! Do you have a preference as to which Morro? Also RideOfTheValkyrjur is fine! She's going to college full time now, and is just really busy.**

 **Ye Old Long Awaited Chapter**

* * *

Chapter 69

"What the heck is _that_ supposed to mean?" Jay 1 demanded. "Are you just joking around?"

"No, I'm serious!" Indigo 1 crossed her arms. "We need to give up Ninjago City!"

" _What?_ " Lloyd turned in his chair to stare at her. "Indigo, what the heck are you talking about?"

"If you'll let me explain…" She waited until they quiet down before continuing. "The Preeminent won't come to take us out unless she thinks she can get rid of us. And it's _her_ we need to beat to win. If she's not gone, we can't win. We're at a stalemate. And she's slowly gonna kill people and build her army, eventually we'll be overrun. We need to sacrifice Ninjago City, then call back to Stiix and bait her into attacking us. When an immediate attack doesn't work, she'll come to make it an infinite battle, hoping to wear us down. Then we spring our trap," She clapped her hands together once. "the water masters either dumping water on her or sweeping her into the ocean." Lloyd rubbing his chin.

"That's… not a half-bad plan." He admitted. "But how are we going to lose the city without it seeming suspicious? I mean, she knows we won't just run at the first sign of danger."

"I don't know. You're the leader. You figure it out." Indigo plopped back into her chair.

"It's not hard." Nicole spoke up. "When they attack, we lose. We already sent one of our water masters to Stiix, we can just act overwhelmed and retreat."

"I guess." Lloyd frowned. "Man, I feel sorry for the people who live here. They were just freed, and… now we're just gonna give them up again."

"Hey, we're not all solid on that plan yet." Kai 2 protested. "What if we fail? What if the Preeminent doesn't show up? Worse, what if she _does_ beat us? We won't have a safe place to regroup! We could _lose!_ For _good!_ "

"Kai, how could we possibly lose?" Nya 1 asked with an eyebrow raised. "We have- well, we _will_ have two water masters and an entire ocean at our disposal. And a ghost dies to a single touch." Kai sighed.

"I guess. But she has others working for her too! What about Reena?"

"You really think Reena can singlehandedly take out a small army?"

"I guess not. But still, it's so risky! What if the ambush fails, or the Preeminent gets wind of it and sends an illusion or something in her place?"

"Morro- either one-" Lloyd started, turning to face the two. "Is the Preeminent corporeal?"

"Oddly enough, yes." Morro 2 replied.

"Then we can just fling a rock at her, and if it hits her she's real." The blond concluded. "Unless Reena is making us _think_ that we saw it hit her. But I doubt she'll have the tile and/or reflexes to conjure up an illusion, much less for all of us. Still, we should check with each other to make sure we all see what happened if we end up doing that." The others murmured their agreement. "So, let's vote on it. Raise your hand if you like this plan." Most of the room raised their hands. "Raise your hand if you think this is a terrible plan and we were foolish to even discuss it." Nico slowly raised his hand.

"It's just really risky." He defended himself.

"Thanks, Nico. Great shot of confidence there." Indigo crossed her arms.

"Sorry, but it is!"

"Alright, 'yes' was the majority vote. Let's do it." Lloyd stood up. "Zanes, Jays, go check to see how close the ghosts are. Everyone else, get ready for departure. We're gonna need to go as soon as we 'lose'."

"Should we tell the people what we're doing?" Kai 1 asked.

"No." Lloyd shook his head. "We can't risk the Preeminent learning something from them."

"True." Kai sighed. "I just… they're going to lose the hope we just gave them."

"I know." Lloyd nodded sadly. "But it will hopefully be over soon. I just hope-"

"Hello?" The blond was interrupted by a vaguely familiar, yet unexpected, voice, echoing down the castle corridors. "Anyone home?"

"Over here." Kai 2 called back. "It's Ronin." He said in a normal voice. "Maybe he's got some more weapons to sell us." Lloyd nodded, but Kai's explanation did not prepare him at all for the five figures that appeared in the doorway.

"Mom?" Nya 1 gasped.

" _Dad?"_ Kai 2 exclaimed.

" _Tara?!_ " Indigo demanded. Ignoring Indigo's outburst, Kai 2 flung himself at the couple that had entered behind Ronin and Tara, who unmistakably resembled him and Nya. Kai and Nya 1 quickly followed suit, running over and joining the group hug. As the Smith family hugged, Nya's mom remarked,

"We seem to be missing one."

"Oh- yeah! You just missed her!" Kai 2 pulled away to look up at them, grinning. "She went back to Stiix to help defend it. And we're going there soon, so you can come with us and see her then!"

"Hey, what's going on here?" Jay 2 interrupted. "Can't someone fill us in?"

"Oh. Guys, these are Nya and my parents!" Kai 1 stepped back, gesturing to them. "Um, well... technically not my Nya and I's parents, but- you're alive! And I guess Ronin filled you in on the timelines thing, since you're not reeling in confusion?" Kai's father laughed.

"Yes he did. I'm Ray, and this is my wife, Maya." The older man gestured to the woman beside him, who Nya was still clinging to.

"I don't believe it." Kai 2 shook his head. "How are you alive? And where have you been all this time?"

"It's a bit of a long story." Maya replied. "Do you have time to hear it? I hear there's a ghost army marching towards the city."

"Yes-" Kai started, but Lloyd interrupted.

"We don't, actually. We're getting out of here as soon as the army arrives. We need to prepare."

"Right." Kai sighed. "I guess you can fill us in when we get back to Stiix."

"Good idea." Ray nodded.

"Did you want something?" Tara asked Indigo, who was staring at her incredulously.

"Yeah. What are you and Ronin doing together? In my universe, you can't stand him!" Tara laughed.

"Well, her loss. He's my husband. And this is our daughter." She lifted a bouncing, giggling toddler into her arms. Indigo's eyes went wide.

"Child."

"Guys, let's not forget about the giant ghost army coming towards us." Cole 2 spoke up.

"We're not." Lloyd stood up. "Sorry Mr. and Mrs. Smith. You came at a bit of a bad time."

"The last couple years in general have been a bad time." Maya said with a sigh. "Ronin, Tara, will you be coming with us?" Ronin shook his head.

"We're going back to our safe house. And no, I'm not telling you all where it is. Best for it to remain a secret." Lloyd nodded.

"Fair enough. I doubt the Preeminent is happy about you helping us. If she knew where you hid out, she'd find you and kill you.

"Exactly." Ronin took his wife's hand. "Good luck, ninja." With that, the three took their leave. There was silence in the room for a minute. Finally, Nicole said.

"Okay, contrary to what I said earlier, it's gonna be kinda hard to convince the Preeminent that we were actually forced out of the city."

"Yeah…" Lloyd frowned. "We might have to do something really dramatic. Maybe lose someone. Anyone wanna volunteer to get captured and cause the rest of us to freak out and run?"

"It'll have to be a ghost." Kai 1 pointed out. "Humans could get possessed and reveal our plans."

"Yeah, and it'll have to be a ghost from the other dimension." Kai 2 added. "Or else the Preeminent can read their mind." Everyone stared at him. "What?"

"Kai… you're a ghost native to this dimension." Lloyd said slowly. "Can the Preeminent read your mind?" Kai's eyes widened, but Morro 2 spoke first.

"Not from this far away. The Preeminent can communicate with anyone at a close enough range, and ghosts from a fair range, but she could only read my mind from anywhere because I was pledged to her. We just can't let her get close to him."

"Well that's a relief. Then again, it makes sense, since we have… a decent amount of native ghosts in our party, so if she could read their minds a lot more of our plans would have been ruined."

"Does it even matter if we're native to this Realm?" Indigo 1 spoke up. "We're still ghosts."

"It does, actually." Morro 2 explained. "When people become ghosts, they're sort of attacked to the Cursed Realm, and since the Preeminent merged herself with the Cursed Realm, they're connected to her. You, the other me, Cole B… you're not linked to her, so…" He shrugged. "You can't be used as a pawn."

"That's comforting. So are we going with the volunteer bait idea?" Indigo glanced around at the others. "Because I feel like I'm the ideal bait."

"No." Morro 1 said immediately.

"Morro, I'll be fine. I've already been kidnapped a dozen times, and nothing terrible has ever happened to me."

"That's no guarantee something won't happen this time! Besides, the Preeminent would use you as bait to try to draw us out of Stiix, and simply letting one of us get captured isn't necessarily enough to convince her we're genuinely fleeing anyway. We need to do something else." Morro shook his head. "Giving you – or any of us – up has too many risks."

"I guess." Indigo sighed, crossing her arms.

"One would think you _want_ to be kidnapped." Morro 2 raised an eyebrow.

"I just want to be helpful." She huffed.

"Being helpful doesn't necessarily mean putting yourself in danger." Morro 1 put an arm around her shoulders. She sighed, but didn't argue.

"Fine."

"Let's just… try to hold them off, but flee when they get through our defenses." Lloyd suggested. "That should work reasonably well."

"A bit underwhelming, but yeah. The Preeminent might be suspicious about how little a fight we put up, though." Morro 2 warned him. "She's very smart."

"I know. But I guess she'll just… assume she frightened us off with the sheer size of her army." Lloyd shrugged. "Let's just get packed up. Once the ghosts get past the outer defenses, we're gonna need to get out of here."

* * *

 **yikes**

 **this could be the endgame guys**

 **~FFF**


	70. Chapter 70

**New cryptid: Updates for this fanfiction**

 **Not gonna... bother doing review replies bc it's been 3ish months but! I was stuck on the stupid fight scene for 3 months so I just decided to skip it here have some words**

* * *

"Goodbye Ninjago City." Lloyd mumbled, glancing over his shoulder to watch as swarms of ghosts stormed the defenseless city.

"It was the right decision to give it up." Morro 2 reminded him, his arms wrapped around his chest from where he sat behind him on his dragon. Lloyd sighed.

"I know, it's the only way. But the people… they put their trust in us."

"And you won't let them down, will you?" Lloyd shook his head.

"I hope not."

"So do I." Apparently, their plan to fake a loss had worked. They had positioned some of the ninja in the streets, then, after defeating a couple waves of ghosts, they had faked receiving a message and fled to where the others were waiting with their supplies and belongings. Once they had all arrived, they flew away. Lloyd could only hope now that the Preeminent was fooled by the oddly easy battle.

The party flew across the desert in a couple hours, which was by far easier than walking, and they arrived in Stiix by midafternoon. Nya 2 greeted her parents with much enthusiasm as they entered the base, having been informed of their existence beforehand, but the thing that caught Lloyd's attention as soon as he came through the door was his double.

The other Lloyd sat at the back of the meeting room, staring listlessly at the floor and not acknowledging their presence. His wrists were cuffed together, but his prosthetic leg had been re-attached so he could walk. They had let him out. Did that mean… they trusted him not to attack people?

Lloyd glanced over his shoulder at Morro 2, whose eyes were locked on his double and his teeth clenched.

"He's out." He whispered, apparently noticing Lloyd's eyes on him. "Why?"

"I guess he's not dangerous anymore." Lloyd murmured in reply. "Still… I hope he's locked up or something at night." Morro clenched his hands into fists, his metal fingers clinking together.

"Me too." Was all he said.

The ninja spent the rest of the day getting settled back in, and going over the details of their plan. Lloyd guessed that it would be a few days before anything happened, as the Preeminent assured her victory over Ninjago City. Until then, all they could do was wait.

As night began to fall, Lloyd inquired after his double's state of imprisonment, and found that he was, in fact, allowed to roam free at all hours. Lloyd wasn't happy at all about that arrangement, on Morro 2's behalf. What if he attacked him again? So, just before they went to bed, he pulled the wind master aside to talk.

"My double isn't locked up at night. I checked." He informed him quietly. "So I'm going to spend the night in your room, if that's okay." Morro nodded.

"O-of course, but… will it be enough? What if you catch him too late?"

"Don't worry, I have an alternate plan."

"What's that?" Lloyd grinned.

"Booby traps."

TheDarknessReturn

For being a Master of Dreams, Nicole sure was having trouble getting her own.

Nicole wandered around the dark, silent base, bored out of her skull while she waited for her brain to figure out it was nighttime. Insomnia was a hard thing.

Morro A had seemed tense since they had returned, likely due to Lloyd B being there. He _had_ chopped off his fingers, after all. Nicole had already stopped by his room to give him some extra-nasty dreams, but maybe as long as she was up she should give her boyfriend some good ones. So she headed in the direction of his room.

As she got close, she noticed a piece of paper taped to the outside of the slightly open door, which read, "ENTER AT YOUR OWN PERIL!". What was _that_ supposed to mean? Well, only one way to find out. Slowly, she leaned closer and pushed the door open.

Immediately, she was drenched in cold water, and something hard hit her head and bounced off as an alarm started ringing.

"WHAT THE ****?!" Nicole yelled, pushing her soaked hair out of her face.

"Nicole?" She looked up, blinking water out of her eyes, to see Lloyd… B, standing next to Morro's bed. "What are you doing here? Didn't you read the sign?"

"Of course I did! That's why I came in! You're practically begging for visitors." Nicole frowned. "Wait, what are you doing in here?"

"We were worried about the other Lloyd attacking me again, so…" Morro sat up in his bed, pushing hair out of his face. "Lloyd set up traps in my room. Sorry." Nicole shook her head, squeezing water out of her hair.

"Whatever. I'm glad someone's looking out for you. I checked on him too, and he's asleep. Well, he might be awake by now." She put a finger on her chin, staring up at the ceiling. "Had to say." Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"It's like midnight. Why would he be awake?"

"Nightmares can be a cause of sleeplessness." Nicole shrugged. Lloyd stared at her for half a minute before it clicked.

"Nicole!"

"What? He deserves it." She raised her hands in a shrug. "Besides, it might help him feel remorseful."

"I… whatever. You still shouldn't have come in." Lloyd crossed his arms, sinking down on the edge of the bed.

"What can I say? Curiosity killed Ni-cat." Morro covered his mouth with his hand to hide a smile. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep in here." She plopped down against the wall. "No offense to her, but Indigo creeps me out."

"Uh… okay." Lloyd blinked. "Do you want the bed, or…?"

"No, I'm all wet. Besides, I lived out in Stiix for a while, I'm used to sleeping on hard surfaces." Nicole leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

"O… kay." Lloyd seemed confused, but not bothered. "I'm going to reset the trap. Be back in a minute." Nicole opened one eye to see him grab a bucket – which must have been what hit her – and jump out the window with it. The dream mistress shrugged, then closed her eyes again.

"Nicole?" She opened her eyes once more at the sound of her name, and watched as Morro slid off the bed, hesitantly walking over and sitting down next to her. "Can I… ask you something?"

"Sure." She tilted her head a bit.

"Are we… dating?" He asked, blushing. "I… you kissed me, but I'm not really sure that means anything." He touched his lips self-consciously.

"We haven't really seriously talked it over, so… no, I'd say we're not currently dating." Nicole considered lowering her head onto his shoulder, but decided she was too wet. "But I want to date you. So…" She trailed off, and he looked hopeful.

"And I wanna date you."

"Boom." Nicole clapped her hands together. "We're dating now." Morro looked startled, but he smiled.

"Good." Slowly, he reached over and took her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. She looked down at their clasped hands, admiring the craftsmanship of his metal fingers.

"Did you get that adjusted so you can punch people?" She asked out of the blue.

"Not yet, I forgot." He shook his head. "But if I get in a situation like the one with Claire again, punching them will be worth it, padding or no padding." Nicole smiled.

"How did you end up behind he without her noticing? Even if you were a ghost, it's hard to be _that_ quiet."

"Well, I have experience." He smiled a bit, looking away. "I had to stay out of sight when I was a kid, or I'd be hurt." Nicole's smile vanished.

"What do you mean? Who would hurt a kid?"

"Most people, if he's an orphan." Morro was an orphan? "They called us thieves, even though we didn't steal. We just took what had been thrown away. Still, if people saw us, we were chased away, sometimes pelted with rocks or rotten food." He looked at the ground, and Nicole noticed his eyes starting to fall closed. He should sleep.

"That's terrible." She rested her head on his shoulder now. "You should really sleep. It's past midnight." She nudged him with her powers just a bit to get him to agree with her, and she gave him a slow nod.

"Yeah… okay." She patted his shoulder as he closed his eyes, and, in just a few moments, he was asleep. Careful not to disturb him, Nicole pulled her hand away from his, scooting away from him and kneeling in front of him on the ground. Gently, she pressed her hand against his forehead, a soft blue mist floating up from her fingertips.

"You're a kid again." The dream mistress murmured, closing her eyes. "But this time, you are safe…"

* * *

 **Please excuse me if they're OOC, I'm trying to work on transitioning back to how they're supposed to act in this fic.**

 **Aaaanyway... Don't expect frequent updates, I won't be updating this a lot until I finish my other fic or Candaru starts reading this series.**

 **~FFF**


	71. Chapter 71

**I love updating in a timely fashion**

 **OH THE THINGS WE COULD DO IS NOW DONE, SO THAT'S ONE LESS FIC I HAVE TO FINISH :'D**

 **Review replies:**

 **KitKat: Nicole is a Good**

 **Peachyheart: Yay! :D**

 **Guest 1: I successfully wrote a romance in under 20 chapters.**

 **Guest 2: That's a really good question and I'm glad you ask because it's given me something to think about for the past couple weeks. I guess the simple answer is that no one really knew what Morro 1 did? Like Tori knew, and Lloyd 1 knew, and Indigo knew, and Morro 2 obviously knew, but Tori's a little bit shy and didn't want to make waves due to her questionable relationship with the ninja ( _especially_ the 1/B ninja), Lloyd 1 really didn't want to get his best friend in trouble, especially since he figures he was pretty much justified in doing it, Indigo's the jerk who caused it in the first place, and Morro 2... didn't dare ask the others for help, cause at the time most people still hated his guts. Andreea knew as well, considering Lloyd must have told her what happened for her to heal him, but honestly no one else ever really figured it out. If they heard about it, it was just like "the morros fought lol" and considering they would side with Morro 1 anyway, they never saw fit to punish him. When Lloyd 2 chopped off his fingers, more people had significantly warmed up to him, and they subconsciously didn't really see him as the same guy who tortured them and ruled the world with an iron fist since he got turned human. Besides, it was... significantly more messy. Blood all over the place, screaming in the middle of the night, Jessica waking everyone up, it just felt so much more _serious_. That's why Lloyd 2 was punished and Morro 1 was not. (sorry this was so long-winded haha)**

 **Ebony: GO NINJA GO**

 **Guest 3?: No, Morro 2 has yet to do most apologies.**

 **Aurro: I'm sorry DX School is almost done, so I'll hopefully be able to write faster soon!**

* * *

"I'm bored." Indigo 1 complained, lying on the floor in the middle of the base's dining room.

"We heard you the first time, Indigo." Jay 2 yelled back. "Once is enough."

"Shut up, Jay."

"Why should _I_ shut up? You're the one who's whining!"

"I'm not _whining,_ I'm _complaining._ Do you want to hear whining?"

"No! And I don't want to hear complaining either!"

"And _I_ don't want to hear your bickering!" Lloyd 1 announced. "Both of you go outside. Indigo, patrol the inner ring of the city, Jay you take the outer. _Move_." The two grumbled, but obeyed, shooting each other glares as they left the room. It had been two days now since they ninja had returned to Stiix, and having to wait on the Preeminent's next move was stressing everyone out. This wasn't the first time Lloyd was forced to break up a fight.

Everyone was finally getting used to Lloyd 2 again, and he was allowed to wander freely around the base without being chained and often ate with them at meals. Morro 2, in response, did not show up at meals anymore, choosing to eat with Lloyd 1 and Nicole in his room instead. Those three continued to shun Lloyd's double, having made an unspoken pact not to forgive him. Not yet, anyway.

"Lloyd, how long do you think we'll have to wait?" Jessica asked, hanging upside-down from a ceiling beam. Lloyd shook his head.

"I dunno. A week at most, I should think." Jessica sighed.

"What are we supposed to do in the meantime? There can't really any preparations to be made..."

"Just... try to keep the citizens of Stiix safe, I guess." Lloyd shrugged. "And watch for oncoming attacks." As if to accent his words, a scream sounded outside the base, followed by a couple more, and Lloyd shot to his feet. Jessica dropped to the ground and followed as he hurried to investigate, throwing open the front door just in time to see Indigo dash through him and around the corner. "What the..." He started, staring after her, but trailed off as he turned back to the city to see a mob of very angry civilians, all armed with water, running towards the base. The blond groaned.

"Indigo, what did you do." he yelled over his shoulder.

"I didn't do _anything!_ " A pair of arms wrapped around his leg, and he looked down to see Indigo hiding behind him, glaring past him at the mob. "I started to go out into the city, then people started screaming and attacked me!"

"Get out of the way, green ninja!" Someone from the mob yelled, and Indigo hid again. "There's a ghost in your base!"

"Hey, back off!" Lloyd yelled back as the mob stopped about ten feet away. "She's on our side!"

"You're working with ghosts now?!" A woman snapped. "How can you save Ninjago if you sympathize with the enemy?!" Lloyd swallowed. Hopefully they would never find out about Morro 2.

"Surely you know that when someone is killed, they become a ghost." He yelled. "Indigo was on our side before she died. She's still on our side." The mob stopped, turning to each other and murmuring a bit. "Indigo's not the only ghost in our party, either." Lloyd continued. "Kai, the red ninja, was caught and killed in a recent attack on the capitol." There were gasps and mutters from the crowd. "And just last week, a child was killed at Bansha's hands. He and Kai are both ghosts now." The crowd became so loud at this that he was forced to wait for them to calm to continue.

"You can't just attack ghosts on sight. How would one ghost get into the city, anyway? Trust me, if we were under attack, you would know." Muttering, the crowd began to disperse. "Wait," He stopped them. "Apologize to Indigo. You could have killed her in your blind rage." Indigo peeked out from behind his leg as the crown murmured apologies in her direction, not glaring quite so hard. Once the mob had left, Lloyd twisted around to face her, as she was still clutching his leg.

"I'm sorry too, Indigo." He offered his own apology. "I forgot that the people of Stiix are... suspicious and murderous."

"That's not what's bothering me." She mumbled. Lloyd's brow furrowed.

"Then what?"

"You assumed it was my fault." She pressed her face into his leg, eyes narrowed. "I didn't do anything. But you assumed I did something wrong."

"I'm sorry." He put a hand on her head. "You were fighting with Jay, and I guess I assumed you took your anger out on someone and got in trouble. But you're right, that wasn't fair of me." He smoothed her hair down, and she clutched his leg a bit tighter. "I guess I'm tense too." She hummed a bit, but didn't answer. "I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded, but didn't let go of him. Sighing, Lloyd leaned down and scooped her up, making her yelp.

"Come on, Indigo, I need my leg back." He teased as he carried her back inside. She huffed, but didn't resist.

"Sorry you're so stupidly tall." She muttered. Lloyd laughed.

"It's not that, you're just so short!"

"It's _both_."

"Well, fair enough, I guess."

TheDarknessReturn

"Nicole?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing?"

"Skipping stones." Nicole lifted a pebble from her stack. "Wanna try?"

"Um... I guess." Morro A took the pebble from her outstretched hand. "How do you do it?"

"Well, you kinda chuck the rock at the water, and try to get it to bounce off the surface. So I guess you gotta kinda throw it at an angle." Nicole hurled the rock in her hand at the ocean, and it bounced twice before falling into the water with a _plop_. "Now you try."

"Okay..." Morro pulled his arm back, then threw the rock at the water as hard as he could. It skipped once before sinking.

"Hey, you did it!" Nicole cheered as he looked back up at her for a reaction. "Nice job!"

"It only bounced once." He pointed out.

"Better than not at all!"

"Hmm. I guess." The two of them sat on the edge of the bridge, skipping stones, for about ten minutes before Morro spoke again.

"Nicole?

"Mm-hmm?"

"Do you think this is gonna work?" The former king asked, not looking up as he skipped another stone over the surface of the ocean. "Tricking the Preeminent?"

"I don't know. Heck, if anyone would know, it's you. You used to work for her, you'd know if she'll be fooled."

"That's the problem, though. I _do_ know her, and... I don't think she'll go for it." He deflated a little bit. "She's... just too smart."

"She can't be _that_ smart if she ditched you." Nicole pointed out, and Morro offered her a faint smile.

"I appreciate it, but she _is_ smart. She's just... also really cruel." Morro stopped skipped stones, hugging his arms to his chest. "I think she's too smart for us." Nicole's teasing smile died at how serious he looked.

"Well... we don't really have a choice but to go through with it." Nicole pointed out. "All we can do is hope and pray that it works."

"But if it doesn't work, there's sure to be casualties!" Morro protested. "A-and we might not ever get another chance! She's so strong and so crafty and- and I don't think-" His voice lowered to a whisper. "What if we can't win?" Nicole was silent for a few moments.

"Well, maybe we could just... leave." She said at last. Morro lifted his head to frown at her.

"What do you...?"

"Somehow, the ninja- the other ninja – got to this timeline, right?" She skipped another stone. "Couldn't we do the same thing to go back to theirs?"

"And- and just abandon the others?"

"No, of course not. We can win battles, right? We can win cities. Our only problem is that we can't- we maybe can't kill the Preeminent. So we could evacuate everyone to another timeline. Think about it," She insisted as Morro frowned. "We control Stiix. At a peaceful moment, we could march everyone through a portal. And we took Ninjago City once, we can do it again. Jamonikai can't be much harder. And all the smaller villages, we could travel around and evacuate them one by one.

"But what about the innocents in the Cursed Realm? We can't just leave them!"

"The Preeminent's here, not in the Cursed Realm, so really _we_ have the advantage there. She can't force us into an endless battle. We can go there and find everyone she wrongfully cursed, and bring them back." Morro frowned, rubbing his chin.

"That... _does_ actually sound plausible." He said at last. "But where would we bring them?"

"If the other Ninjago is like this one, there should be plenty of room for new cities to be built to house them all."

"I guess. That might create some issues with... doubles, but it would work." Morro shook his head. "We could really just... leave. Abandon the Preeminent here with her ghosts." Nicole nodded.

"But we should try to kill her first." Nicole tossed another rock at the water, and sighed as it failed to bounce, plopping into the water instead. As she watched it sink, ripples spreading out a foot in every direction before fading, something clicked in her head and she sat straight up. "Oh."

"What?" Morro tilted his head to look at her.

"I just had an _insanely_ clever idea." Nicole shot to her feet with a grin. "Come on, I'll explain in a minute. I have to go tell the others!"

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I've never skipped a stone in my life I don't know how it works**

 **Indigo doesn't know it but she's secretly been adopted by all of the good guys**

 **~FFF**


	72. Chapter 72

**I love updating in a timely fash- wait that's last chapter's intro I'm running out of material**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: psh it'll probably be fine**

 **Guest: dw dude im never bothered by long reviews!**

 **Plumcicle: That would be confusing. And it used to bother me when I was little, but now that I see it EVERYWHERE, I decided it's not worth getting annoyed with.**

 **MNM: That's a very good question! I haven't had a lot of time to develop their relationship, as you might have noticed that most OCs don't belong to me. Basically only Indigo. Nicole was submitted midway through this book, about 25 chapters ago, with a request for her to date Morro 2. That's the main reason for their relationship. BUT, there are good, in-story reasons for them to be dating, which are subtle but still there. If you wanna hear them, let me know, this review reply would get REAALLLLLY long if I did now lol. Preferably, if you have an account, hmu with a PM and I'll list them there :P**

 **KitKat: The most small**

 **Aurro: Pfft, you think THAT'S a cliffhanger? In Chapter 36 I murdered Kai and then left on vacation for a week!**

 **Jayden: *whispers* reread it**

 **MarbleBird: Doesn't matter, I didn't update before you saw it anyway lol**

 **yeet**

* * *

"So, wait, hold on." Lloyd B put up his hands in front of them, halting Nicole's flow of information. "You think we should use a _what?_ "

"A geyser!" She repeated her idea. "A man-made one! Like a really strong fountain! Hypothetically, we could kill or at least seriously injure the Preeminent if we could hit her with it!"

"But how would we pull it off? We only have a few days before they'll attack, anyway!"

"Easy! Make a long hole, like a tunnel that has two openings." She traced a line in midair. "Fill it with water, then drop something like a really heavy rock on one end, and the water will be forced out the other end! Physics!" Lloyd frowned.

"I... think I get it. We could test it out, at least. But how would we make the tunnel?"

"Coles could dig it."

"I guess." The blond straightened up. "I'm gonna go ask them and the Nyas to set up a simulation." Briskly, he walked off, leaving the meeting room and shutting the door behind him.

"That _is_ pretty clever." Morro A admitted. "If we could hit her with enough water moving fast enough, we could cut her in half."

"That's the idea!" Nicole chirped, turning to face him. As soon as her back was turned, the door Lloyd had just left through opened again, and she turned back around to see Morro B step into the room. His face was dead serious, and Nicole tensed a bit. What did he want?

"I'm here to apologize." He said quietly, approaching them before stopping a few feet away. Morro A shuffled back a bit, glancing at Nicole before looking back up at his double.

"For what?" He asked quietly.

"Hurting you. Treating you like I did when you were trying to join our side." Nicole blinked. She didn't know Morro B that well, but this seemed... out of character for him.

"It's... it's okay. I forgive you." Morro A grasped his forearm, looking away awkwardly. "I kinda deserved it, after all."

"No, you didn't. You did some pretty horrible things, but so have I, so it's not like I'm in any position to judge. And, like Lloyd keeps telling me... I'm supposed to be a good guy." Morro B shrugged a bit. "So... I'm sorry."

"I forgive you. And..." His double hesitated for a moment. "I'm sorry too. For everything I did to you, and Lloyd, and... Indigo." Morro B was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"I forgive you too." He extended a hand, and Morro A stared at it for a moment before apparently remembering what a handshake was and taking it. "Are we cool now?" Morro B asked as they shook hands.

"I guess."

"Good. In times like this, we need to focus on fighting the real bad guy, not each other."

"Ain't that the truth." Nicole muttered, staring at her boyfriend's metal fingers. Morro B shook his head.

"He'll come around. I'm sure he will."

"I hope so." The dream mistress crossed her arms. "'Cause if he doesn't, I'm gonna kill him."

"Please don't." Morro A winced.

"I won't. Don't take me seriously, I'm a crazy girlfriend." She patted his arm.

"Good. Because, if you did, you know who would get blamed for it." Nicole blinked owlishly at him before realizing what he meant.

"Ohhh. You."

"Yes, me."

"Speaking of crazy girlfriends," Morro B interjected, "I think Indigo has warmed up to you significantly."

"I think so too. And I'm glad." Morro A nodded, looking down at the floor. "She... out of all of you except for you and Lloyd A, I was probably the worst to her. I'm glad she's not like... Lloyd is." He glanced down at his hand.

"Even if she did... still hate you, she wouldn't do something like that." Morro B hastened to say. "At least, she wouldn't do such a thing without talking to me first, and between the two of us we would eventually decide it wasn't right." His double gave him a tight smile.

"It's a bad sign when an ex-villain and his reckless girlfriend are more morally pure than the Green Ninja." Morro B blinked, then smiled back.

"You're right. That's a terrible sign." He ran a hand through his longer hair, then turned away. "Thank you. For forgiving me."

"Thank _you_ for forgiving _me._ " Morro A replied. His double smiled over his shoulder at him, then left the room.

"That's a good thing." Nicole remarked once he was gone.

"What is?"

"That you two aren't fighting now."

"Well, yeah, obviously."

"But like... especially so with him, because he's really jealous of your relationship with his Lloyd and hopefully now that you two are getting along Lloyd will give him more attention and he can focus more on the battle for Ninjago." Morro blinked.

"He is?"

"Jealous? Yes."

"How do you...?"

"I heard them talking about it."

"Um... okay. Yeah. Hopefully that'll be a lot better for all of us."

"Yeah." Neither of them spoke for a moment before Morro continued.

"Do you think... do you think Lloyd A and I will ever be 'cool'?"

"Ah, nah." Nicole rolled her eyes. "There's no hope for you two. You cut off his leg, he cut off your fingers. The best you can do is avoid him." Morro bit his lip.

"Yes, but he... apologized to me. He... he sent Andreea to tell me he was sorry, he didn't think I'd want to see him. Which I didn't. I feel like... I feel like the right thing to do is to forgive him."

"Do you _want_ to forgive him?"

"...not yet."

"Then don't. If he wants your forgiveness, he'll work for it." Morro frowned.

"...I guess."

"Just don't worry about him. He's not important right now, we're trying to prevent the end of the world." The ex-ghost cracked a smile.

"I guess."

"Right. Let's go see how that simulation is coming along, shall we?" Nicole took his hand, and they headed out in the direction Morro B had gone in search of Lloyd.

TheDarknessReturn

"Do you think he'll ever forgive me?" Lloyd asked softly, staring down at his prosthetic foot. Andreea, sitting beside him on the bed, shook her head.

"I don't know."

"If he doesn't, I- I-" Lloyd pressed his face into his hands. "Ugh, I feel _terrible_. There's always a sick feeling in my stomach, and I dream about what I did _every night_. I hear his scream _every night."_ He let out a shuddering breath. "And I feel- I feel really sad and I don't- I don't really know why! It's- it's not like I killed him or something! Ohhhh..." Lloyd pressed his hands harder against his face. "I wish I hadn't done it. I _really_ wish I hadn't done it..."

"You should talk to him." Andreea said softly.

"No, no. I can't. I can't even get close to him without him running away. He's afraid of me." Lloyd stared at the floor through his fingers. "I can't... he must hate me now if he didn't already."

"Well..." His girlfriend started slowly. "What if I went and asked him if he was up to meeting with you? I could offer to let his girlfriend come, for... protection." Lloyd frowned, lifting his head a bit.

"He has a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, Nicole. Dream powers."

"Oh." Lloyd sighed. "If I wasn't sure she hated me now too, I'd ask if she could maybe do something about these nightmares."

"If Morro will forgive you, then maybe you can."

"I hope so. So... yeah. I'd really like it if you went and talked to him."

"Alright. Should I go now?"

"I can't think of any better time. In fact, as soon as the Preeminent shows up, everything's going to fall apart, so... as soon as possible is probably best."

"Okay. I'll be back soon with his reply, and him and Nicole if he says yes, okay?" Lloyd nodded, straightening up a bit as his girlfriend stood and left the room. Sighing, the blond lay back on the bed, spreading his arms out to the sides and staring up at the ceiling. Even though what he had done bordered on unforgivable, he had to at least try to make things right.

* * *

 **Bold of you to assume she's not the one giving you said nightmares, Lloyd.**

 **So... have you ever done a Bad Thing and then just felt soul-crushing guilt come over you? Imagine you did something 10x worse. That's how Lloyd 2 feels.**

 **~FFF**


	73. Chapter 73

**I apologize in advance for this chapter.**

 **Review replies:**

 **Zena: He needs it.**

 **KitKat: I'm sure they'll have things to bond over.  
**

 **Entity: Morro is a nice guy.**

 **Aurro: The fandom you say? *eyes emoji* And thank you! The main parts of the trilogy tend to be more story/action based, but I always sneak some fluff in because I can't help it. :'D**

 **Ebony: Or a lot. Just make a bunch of holes. I'm sure Karen won't notice.**

 **Kat: Yeah, I know I would. Just go around with a knife... chopping off fingers... making a collection... well, if it helps, try to remember WHY they're 1-B/2-A. Cause of the Jays fighting in like chapter 4 or 5.**

 **MarbleBird: He's trying his best.**

 **MNM: No worries! I could tell you in one of these replies, but someone *cough* Nicole *cough* is about to get some character development, so that will hopefully clear things up for you.**

 **Everyone dissing Lloyd for not realizing it's Nicole: come on guys it just didn't occur to him he's trying his best I swear**

* * *

"Don't say it." Nicole ordered.

"Say what?" Morro A tilted his head.

"'I told you so'."

"But I _did_ tell you so."

"Shh." Entirely against all of Nicole's assumptions, Lloyd A had sent his girlfriend to offer Morro an apology, in person. Andreea had readily agreed when Nicole asked to accompany him, saying that was a given. This whole thing was very, very suspicious. Nicole had to be careful to keep a handle on everyone's emotions. She didn't want Lloyd trying _anything_. Logically, she could have made him so wracked with guilt that he was desperate to apologize in an attempt to feel better, but… she was still suspicious.

As they approached Lloyd's room, Andreea stepped aside, waiting for them to pass by before taking Nicole by the arm.

"Morro, go on in." She said sweetly, and Nicole bristled. "I need to have a word with your girlfriend."

"Um, I don't think so." The dream mistress yanked her arm out of her grip. "You want Morro to go in there, alone, with _him?_ "

"He won't hurt me." Morro hastened to say. "Andreea wouldn't lead me into a trap."

"Would she?" Nicole gave Lloyd's girlfriend a nasty look, who scoffed.

"You're far too protective of him. He's an elemental master, he can handle himself even if Lloyd did attack him."

"She's right, Nicole. It's fine." Morro smiled, trying to comfort her, then opened the door and stepped into Lloyd's room. Nicole grumbled under her breath as he closed the door behind him. Apparently the confidence she had given him was backfiring on her.

"Alright, fine. What do you want?" She snapped, turning to Andreea.

"I want you to stay out of Morro and Lloyd's business." Moving at lightning speed, Andreea whipped a pair of black cuffs out from behind her back and snapped one onto Nicole's wrist. The dream mistress blinked.

"Hey, what the ****?"

"Let them work this out for themselves. They don't need you messing with their heads." Nicole stared at the cuff on her wrist for a moment, then grabbed Andreea by the arm and snarled,

"Get this off me, right _now_. My powers are the only thing keeping Lloyd repentant. Without my influence, they're going to kill each other!"

"No." Andreea, infuriatingly enough, seemed steadfast in her decision. Wherever she had the key for these, she wasn't going to just hand them over. "You underestimate Lloyd. He _is_ sorry."

"My powers are making him act like that, you dumb *****!" Nicole shoved her against the wall, but Andreea shoved her back.

"Like I said, let them deal with this on their own. If they're going to fight, so be it. They need to work this out between them."

"Last time they tried to work things out, Lloyd snuck up on Morro while he was asleep and cut off his fingers!" Nicole snapped. "That's not- how is that 'working things out' at all?! They're just going to fight!" Shoving her one more time, the dream mistress spun around and pushed the door open to see Morro and Lloyd facing off in the center of the room, ready to fight.

"Hey!" Nicole yelled, and they turned to look at her, the orb of energy in Lloyd's hand disappearing as he clutched his bedpost to stay upright. "What's going on? What happened to apologizing?!" She demanded, playing dumb as to the effect of her powers being negated.

"Something happened."

"He did something!" The two spoke at once, Lloyd pointing at Morro accusingly.

"What?" Nicole crossed her arms, trying to hide the cuff on her wrist.

"He started to apologize, but something- I felt _different_." Morro didn't drop his fighting stance, wind whipping around him. "I think he felt it too. I got more… scared."

"He stumbled," Lloyd continued. "And then he moved to attack me."

"I didn't until you started moving! He got up and moved towards me!"

"I wasn't going to attack you! I was trying to figure out what you did!"

"Alright, stop!" Nicole snapped. "Can you just get this over with? Nothing happened!"

"Something _did_ happen." Andreea said behind her, and Nicole looked over her shoulder to see her leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. "I cuffed her. Turned off her powers. She was playing with both your minds, what you felt was her influence being removed." Both boys turned to look at her in shock. Lloyd looked angry, and Morro looked… wounded.

"I was trying to help," She started, but Lloyd cut her off.

"'Trying to help'? How is making me feel horrible help at all?! Especially since you didn't even intend for me to be sorry!" Nicole stared.

"Wait, how did you-"

"I told him you didn't think he would apologize." Morro said quietly. "Nicole, you-" He bit his lip and turned away, and Nicole took her chance to try and explain.

"I was giving you confidence. Trying to make you less scared. I was trying to help."

"Yeah, well, you know what else I felt switched off?" He snapped, turning back to look at her. "My affection for you. Did I really even ever love you? Or was that just you playing with my head?!" Whirling around, Morro stormed from the room. Nicole stared after him for a moment, keenly aware of the heavy chain dangling from her wrist. Then she spun around to face Andreea, who was- was she _smirking?!_

"Why?!" She demanded. "You _knew_ this would happen, didn't you? Do you get a kick out of making people fight, or what?!"

"A good relationship is built on trust, Nicole. Not mind games." Was her smug answer.

"Wrong! _Everything_ is built on mind games! Society is built on everyone's perception of each other, which is altered by everything from body language to word choice! Even a passing glance is tactics to bring about some change!" Andreea's smirk faded, and she shook her head.

"Nicole, if you think like that, it's no wonder you act like you do."

"It's not a matter of 'me thinking like that', it's how the real world works!" The dream mistress snapped. "I didn't make him love me with my powers, I used them, yes, but I used other methods of emotional manipulation, like _talking to him!_ " The older girl put up a hand to cut her off.

"It's not me you need to convince, it's Morro." Nicole clamped her mouth shut, glaring up at her.

"Fine." She spat at last, then stormed out of the room towards Morro's. About halfway there, she stopped short. No… Morro was hurt and upset. He wouldn't want to see her until he'd had a time to think about what had happened, and probably sleep on it. Instead, she turned back towards her own room. She had to think of something she could say to make him trust her again.

TheDarknessReturn

Lloyd sunk to the ground, panting, as Andreea turned from the doorway Nicole had just exited through.

"Lloyd!" She exclaimed, hurrying over to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah- yeah." He leaned against the bed, stretching his half-leg out in front of him. "I took- I took off my prosthetic so I wouldn't scare him. I thought it might be better if I couldn't even stand to attack him if I wanted to. But- but then I got angry and stood up and- standing on one foot only works for so long."

"Oh." Andreea sat down beside him, grabbing his prosthetic leg from where it leaned against the wall and helping him strap it on. "Here. Do you need some water?" He shook his head.

"No, I'm fine." They were quiet for a few moments as she fastened the metal contraption to what remained of his leg. "That didn't go well at all." He said at last.

"I think it went fine."

"I didn't get past 'I'm sor-' before I was sidetracked."

"Yes, but I got Nicole to listen to me for two seconds." Andreea shook her head. "The more I get to know her, the more I realize how messed-up she really is."

"Well, I don't know her very well, except for her powers, but she did spend the last year or so of her life in a city ruled by a heartless, cunning murderer. Oh…" he pressed a hand against his forehead. "I bet she's the one giving me nightmares."

"I wouldn't put it past her." Andreea sighed. "She doesn't… she doesn't really trust anyone. And I don't think she's deliberately being creepy and manipulative, I think… she genuinely thinks that's how relationships work." The pink ninja shook her head. "Whatever the case, what she's done is out in the open now. If she really loves Morro, she'll have to repair her relationship with him on her own. And if she doesn't, well… Morro deserves better."

"I could argue that with you as far as what Morro deserves." Lloyd muttered. "But, if she's a jerk who plays with people's emotions with the end result of eventually ditching them… yeah, even Morro deserves better than that."

"Exactly." Andreea leaned back on her hands. "I'll ask Morro to come back later so you can apologize to him, as long as you're still sorry and that wasn't just all her." She gave him a side-eyed look, and he shook his head.

"No, I'm still sorry. She underestimated me."

"Good. I'll invite him back once he's not so upset over Nicole."

"Okay. What do we do until then?"

"Wait, I guess."

"Mmm." The two fell silent. "Andreea?" The blond spoke up again at last. "I think I will take that water you offered."

"Alright, I'll get it." The diamond master stood.

"Thanks, babe."

"'Babe'? What's with the pet names?"

"I don't know. I just feel better than Morro and Nicole."

"Dating isn't a contest, Lloyd."

"But it could be."

"Stop."

* * *

 **all the morro x nicole fans: I'm sorry. everything will turn out fine, I promise.**

 **~FFF**


	74. New Rules

**I'm going to a friend's house in like 5 minutes so I have 0 time for review replies, but take this very long, not proofread chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 74

Nicole awoke from her misery-induced nap at the squeak of her bedroom door.

"Nicole, why are you sleeping? It's the middle of the day." A flat voice asked, and she lifted her head to see Indigo standing in the doorway with an amused look on her face.

"None of your business." She snapped, rolling over and burying her face in the pillow.

"Alright, geez, if you're gonna- hey, you- what's with the cuff?" Nicole blinked, then remembered the vengestone cuff, which was still locked around her wrist. She sat up, blowing her hair out of her face with a huff.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Well… do you want me to get it off?" Nicole looked up to see Indigo holding a hairpin in one hand, and a needle in the other. Lockpicking tools.

"Um… yeah, I'd like that." Indigo crossed the room and sat down next to her on the bed, taking Nicole's wrist and setting it in her lap as she stuck the needle and the hairpin into the keyhole. "Do you just… carry around the needle with you wherever you go?" The human girl asked after a moment.

"Yeah. I put it inside my arm, then become solid." The void mistress replied without looking up. Nicole cringed.

"Doesn't that… hurt?"

"Nah."

"Okay…" The two girls were silent for a few minutes as Inidgo worked on the lock.

"I saw your boyfriend storming into his room earlier." The ghost girl commented after a while. "He looked pretty upset."

"It's all Andreea's fault!" Nicole blurted. "She was- I was trying to- I was trying to help! And she-"

"Alright, calm down." Indigo set down the needle and patted her shoulder. "You can rant if you want, just don't get so worked up." Nicole took a deep breath, then let it out.

"I was using my powers on Morro to make him less scared of talking to Lloyd, and he didn't know, but Andreea figured it out somehow, so she _cuffed_ me, and Morro noticed the difference when my powers stopped and now he's _mad at me_ , and-"

"Why would he be mad?" Indigo interrupted. "He knows what you can do. I'd think he would be appreciative." Nicole fidgeted. "Stop squirming. This is harder than it looks."

"Sorry. Um… that wasn't all I was doing."

"What else did you do?"

"I kinda… made him love me more." Her voice lowered to a mumble. "And when Andreea cuffed me, that- that feeling went away, and now he thinks he never loved me in the first place and I was just playing with his head but I wasn't! I didn't use my powers on him much! Just a little bit! And Andreea says that's not okay, but it's no different than me manipulating him any other way!

"I told her that's how the real world works, that _everything's_ manipulation if you want to get ahead, but she didn't listen! She's been pampered by the ninja for the past few years, she doesn't get it!" Something occurred to her. "Indigo, you grew up on the streets, didn't you? You get it, don't you?" Indigo didn't answer for a moment, a click finally coming from the cuffs and the shackle coming free.

"I do get it." The ghost girl said at last. "When I lived out there, alone, lying, cheating, stealing… heck, I tried to _kidnap_ Lloyd. But those things… I always knew those things weren't okay. Sometimes you don't have any choice if you wanna survive, but… different rule apply when you have friends. And a family." Indigo didn't look at her as she spoke, staring at the floor. "You have to learn to trust them, and to let them trust you.

"When I was alone, I was a thief. I used my powers to take out security and get around unnoticed. Your powers are suited for manipulation, so… you were a grifter. A con woman." Indigo glanced up at her for confirmation, and Nicole nodded. "And now you're so used to it that it's hard to stop. On some level, you probably feel like this is just another con. It's hard to open up when you're always lying." Nicole bit her lip. Yeah.

"But that's the only way you're gonna earn Morro's trust. You do love him, right?" The dream mistress nodded earnestly. "Then you have to tell him everything. Tell him everything you did, and tell him why. Don't leave anything out, and _don't_ lie, whatever you do."

"What if he doesn't believe me? Or doesn't forgive me?"

"Then you'll have to earn his forgiveness. Treat him with respect. Don't manipulate people. Stop using your powers altogether if you have to, just prove to him that you're sorry and you want to change, even if it's for no one's sake but his."

"But I'm- I'm _not_ sorry." Nicole protested. "I don't even understand why it's not okay!" Indigo sighed, looking up at her.

"Nicole, people's thoughts and feelings are very intimate things. When they're altered or changed by an outside force, people get scared and defensive. If you can't trust yourself, who can you trust?" Nicole frowned.

"I guess."

"Nicole, think about it. Imagine if you fell in love with someone, and then you found out the reason you did was because they changed your thoughts and made you. How would that make you feel?"

"…bad. Hurt."

"Would you doubt that person's love for you?"

"…yeah."

"That's right. Because, if they really loved you, they'd put you first. That's what love is. 'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." Indigo quoted. "It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs'. What you did to Morro hurt him and probably confused him. You made him question whether he's even supposed to love you, and definitely if you love him, or if he's just the punchline of some cruel joke. You need to go talk to him." A pause. "Now. Go now."

"H-huh?" Nicole pushed herself to her feet as Indigo waved her away.

"Go talk to him. Move." Indigo clapped her hands together. "The longer you wait, the more time he has to wonder and theorize about your motivations."

"Uh- okay." Nicole hurried towards the doorway, then paused. "Indigo?"

"What?"

"Did you… do a thing like I did? With your Morro?" She twisted her hands together. "You sound like you're speaking from experience." Indigo smiled a bit.

"I guess I do. I didn't… do the same thing, exactly. But it took me a long time to get out of the mindset I had when I lived on the streets. It took me a really long time to trust the other ninja, and instead of asking for things like food and clothing I'd steal them, even though I really knew if I asked they'd give it to me. But I know how hard it is to trust people. And I know it's easier to just keep following the same rules, use your powers to cushion the hard parts. But eventually people are gonna find out. They did for me, and now they have for you. You gotta make it up to them somehow." Nicole frowned, then nodded.

"Yeah. Can I have those cuffs?"

"Sure." Indigo tossed her the vengestone cuffs, and she caught them before hurrying off down the hall. Indigo was right. She needed to explain herself to Morro before she lost him forever.

TheDarknessReturn

Morro really, _really_ wanted to believe the best about Nicole. That this was some mistake, that it wasn't as bad as it looked. But… deep down inside him, a little voice kept telling him that she was _not_ to be trusted. She wasn't his friend.

Morro sat on his bed in his room, knees pulled up to his chest as he replayed the events from a couple hours ago again and again in his head. Stepping into Lloyd's room, exchanging greetings with him, Lloyd acting so polite, so _nice-_ then the shift in his emotions, so sudden he nearly stumbled. Nicole bursting in, pretending not to know what was happening even though she was _obviously_ flustered and nervous, then getting defense when Andreea called her out. Lloyd screaming at her, demanding to know _why_ she thought it was okay for her to make him feel so _horribly guilty,_ so _miserably_ , and Nicole not even _caring_. The only emotion in her eyes was anger.

He had felt his heart skip a beat when his confidence, his bravery, and his affection vanished. His eagerness to see her follow him through the door- gone. He felt like a pawn in a game of chess when he realized what happened- not even useful until he was turned into something else.

He jumped when a soft knock sounded on his door. Hopeful that it was Lloyd, he called,

"Come in!" The door creaked open, and he was dismayed to find that it was Nicole, not Lloyd, who stepped through the doorway. "What do you want?" He asked quietly, looking away.

"I wanted to explain. I- no." She shuffled a couple feet into the room, her hands behind her back. "I wanted to apologize." Morro didn't turn to face her, but glanced in her direction. At least she was admitting she had done something wrong.

"I- I didn't get it." She looked down at the floor. "I didn't understand why you were mad at first. Why everyone was. I've been… I've been lying for so long, I forgot it wasn't normal. Indigo had to explain it to me, and… I get what I did. I get why you reacted that way. And I'm… sorry." Morro felt a sliver of pity creep into his mind, then he shook his head rapidly.

"How can I trust my reaction to any of this," He growled. "Now that I know _exactly_ what you can do?" Wordlessly, Nicole removed her hands from behind her back, revealing a pair of vengestone cuffs in her hands. Without looking at him, she cuffed her hands together.

"Now I can't tamper with your emotions even if I wanted to." She said quietly. Morro stared at her for a few moments before nodding slowly.

"I- yeah."

"I'm sorry for manipulating you, and not just with my powers. In other ways, too." She continued. "I'm a con artist. This isn't the first time I've made someone fall in love with me. This… is the first time I've been in love with that person, though.

"I fell in love with you almost at first sight. I'd seen you before, when you ruled the world." He felt a stab of guilt, he always did when someone brought up his past, but this time he was almost glad for the reminder that not everything he felt came from her. "And when you ruled the world, I hated you. Everyone did. You were the monster who made our lives hell, made us live like this. But when I _met_ you…" She twisted her hands together, shuffling closer.

"You changed my perception of you instantly. When I first saw you, you were unconscious on the ground, injured and nearly abandoned. The fact that you were so helpless made me feel sorry for you, and… somehow that lead to me falling for you. The _first_ thing we talked about was about how you were betrayed by your master and Lloyd took you in, about why you were evil in the first place, and why you changed.

"I fell in love with you because… well, you're attractive, and that helped, but the _real_ reason I fell for you was because you were trying really, _really_ hard to change, and most people weren't giving you credit for it. Because I felt like you needed someone to be there for you. And once I fell in love, I didn't know what to do. I'd never fallen in love before. So I used every manipulation tactic I knew of to try to get you to love me back.

"Me offering you my jacket, and the smiles and compliments, none of those things were real. I was just scared and lonely and I wanted you to love me, so I did whatever I had to to make it happen. I didn't use my powers much, just to make you think about me until it occurred to you that you might love me, to push you in the right direction. Nothing I did for you was genuine. Except…" She hesitated.

"When I went after Claire, when you saved me, I didn't mean for you to even know. I was just so angry at her for hurting you." She balled her hands into fists. "And Lloyd- I wanted to see him _suffer_ for how he made you suffer. As far as I was concerned, if I could give him those nightmares every day of his life, maybe he would have gotten what he deserved for what he did to you. I hated him. I don't know… I don't think I hate him anymore.

"So… I guess the point of this whole thing is that I'm a poorly socialized moron who reacted to falling in love by panicking and tricking the unfortunately recipient of her affections into loving her back." She sniffled, staring at the ground. "I was just- just so _lonely,_ so scared of losing you, the only person I've cared about in years and years, and I- I couldn't go back to that. I can't go back to that. I know I messed up really bad, I'm sorry." She didn't lift her eyes from the ground. "Will you forgive me?" Morro stared at her, at the girl who he knew now, without a shadow of a doubt, that he _really did_ love.

"Of course I forgive you." Standing up, Morro strode across the room towards her and pulled her into a tight hug. "You went about it the wrong way, but it's obvious from your actions that you love me." He murmured as she squeaked., unable to hug him back due to her wrists being cuffed in front of her. "You fought Claire for me, tried to protect me from Lloyd. And those things you said were only a means to make me fall in love with you, isn't that what _normal_ flirting is? It's just being nice. That's why I love you, for your actions. Even if you hadn't made me think about you, I'm sure I would have fallen for you anyway." Nicole sniffled.

"Does that- does that mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

"I'm not. But… since you said you're so used to lying it's hard to stop… I'm not sure if I can trust you not to mess with my head." Morro pulled away to look at her, and she straightened up, looking at him with determined, if teary, eyes.

"Kai's dad told me he's a blacksmith. I'll ask him to make me something – like a bracelet – out of vengestone, then I can't."

"If you're willing to give up use of your powers for me, I can be sure that you really do love me. If you're as fond of your powers as I am of mine, that's a lot to give up." He lifted one of her cuffed hands and kissed her fingers. "And you might not be perfect, but no one is. I'm just as bad. Well… much worse, probably.

"We make quite a couple, don't we?" She gave him a watery smile, and he returned it.

"We sure do." He hugged her tight again, and they stood there for a few, long moments, neither of them saying a thing. There had been too many words spoken already. Finally, Morro pulled away.

"We should get these stupid things off you." He tugged at the chains a bit, staring down at her wrists.

"I need to apologize to Lloyd, too. What I did to him… wasn't okay. If I don't apologize, I might just further the circle of revenge." Nicole frowned a bit.

"Do you want me to come with you? I really should apologize too, for… killing his mom and chopping off his leg."

"Yeah. I want you to come." She wiped the tears off her face with her sleeve. "Come on, I'm sure Andreea has the key for these."

"Yeah." Morro nodded, following her as she lead him back out of his room. Nicole wasn't perfect, and it make take some time for them to really be a good couple, but this was a start.

* * *

 **This is so long oh my gosh romance is so complicated**

 **~FFF**


	75. Chapter 75

**Did... did y'all not see the last update? It's kinda really discouraging when y'all complain about a character and then I go to all the trouble to make her pay for her actions and then redeem her and like 2 people even acknowledge it (you two, I love you)**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: She's had a hard life.**

 **Aurro: If you could turn on PMs I could try to walk you through it haha, but if you google it you may find a guide? Or look for help on the site?**

* * *

"She's here!" Lloyd shouted, pointing out the window towards the east. The other ninja flocked to the windows, watching in what was almost excitement as the Preeminent appeared on the horizon.

It had been almost a week since they had arrived back in Stiix, and the Preeminent had finally made her entrance. She was still many miles away, and moving slowly, so she wouldn't arrive for at least a couple days, but she was obviously confident enough in her ability to defeat them that she didn't bother trying to hide her approach. Which was a good thing, it meant she didn't think they had any way to stop her.

"Alright, this is actually happening." Lloyd clapped his hands together, turning from the window to face the others. "She's coming. Zane, judging by her speed, when will she get here?"

"According-" both Zanes started, then stopped to let the other speak. They exchanged glances, then Zane 1 said, "According to current data, she will arrive in 37 hours, 26.7 minutes. Roughly a day and a half. If her army moves at the same speed, we will have to fight at about nightfall tomorrow."

"Thank you. Alright, I need constant surveillance on the Preeminent, and patrols around the city to make sure the people aren't panicking. I'm going to go and try to convince everyone that they're in good hands. Kais- no, just Kai 1, you're with me. They're not fond of ghosts." Kai 2 rolled his eyes, nodding.

"Yeah, I heard."

"Nyas, Maya, start filling the water reserve." Lloyd continued. The Coles had opened up a pit near where they had dug the geysers, to fill beforehand so they could simply move the water instead of having to create it when it came to be time to set off their trap. "Let's go, we're on a deadline!" He clapped his hands together again, and the ninja moved to obey him as he headed out the door, Kai 1 following him out.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight, knowing that thing is coming for us." The red ninja muttered, nodding towards where the Preeminent hovered in the distance. Lloyd elbowed him playfully.

"Great. You can take the night watch." Kai grinned, elbowing him back.

"In your dreams. Which you won't be having, 'cause, if I'm staying up all night, you're staying up with me."

"I can't do that! I'm the leader! I need my sleep so I can make good plans!"

"What kind of leader makes a member of his team do something he wouldn't do himself?"

"I _would_ do it, but this battle tomorrow's gonna decide the fate of the _universe_. As the leader, I need to be alert."

"Drink some coffee!"

"Coffee won't be good enough!"

"Hmph. It works for me."

"Then _you_ stay up all night and _you_ drink it."

"Nuh-uh, if I'm staying up you're staying up with me."

"I can't, bro, I'm the leader."

"Well- oh, there are panicking citizens. We should go deal with that." Kai stopped in his tracks, pointing towards the sound of shouts and screams. Lloyd sighed.

"Yeah, we should." Spinning around, Lloyd airjitzued up onto the roof of a building, charging a ball of energy and releasing it to destabilize and disappear in a flash above the city.

"Hey!" He yelled, catching the attention of those who weren't already staring at the source of the light. "Please, calm down! We have everything under control!"

"How can you say that?" A woman demanded. "The Preeminent is coming to wipe us out! Last time she was here, she took over the world!"

"Listen to me!" Lloyd yelled as the crowd began to clamor again. "The Preeminent can read minds at close range, so I can't give you _any_ details for fear of her learning our plan. But, I _promise_ you, we have everything under control. The Preeminent doesn't have a hope of beating us." The crowd quieted a bit, murmuring to each other in confusion. "I know you're scared, and I would be too." He _was_ scared. "But I promise you, everything's going to work out fine. I'll make sure of it." The crowd, apparently satisfied, began to disperse, hopefully to spread the news. Kai, airjitzuing up next to him, commented,

"Nice speech." Lloyd sighed, sinking down on the rooftop.

"I hate lying to them."

"Lying?" Kai echoed in surprised.

"I _don't_ know if we're going to win. I definitely can't promise. I don't… I don't think we can pull this off." The older ninja sat down next to him.

"What makes you think that?"

"She's just- she's so _strong._ And we barely know the extent of her abilities, I just feel like we're going to be taken off guard…"

"Even if we do, we're the ninja. We've been faced with tons of wacky things, many of which we've had no warning before being forced to deal with. We've done this plenty of times, it's unlikely that we'll fail."

"But if we do, what then? We might not ever get another chance…" Lloyd fell silent, and Kai patted his shoulder.

"Then we'd better win the first time." He said firmly.

"I guess so." Lloyd shuffled to his feet, offering Kai a hand up before jumping off the roof and using Spinjitzu to cushion his fall. "Come on, let's go finish our patrol."

TheDarknessReturn

"Ta daaaa!" Nicole spun around, holding back her hair so Morro could see the black, stud earrings in her ears. "Small enough that they won't be noticed by a bad guy, secure enough that they won't come off accidently, but easy enough for me to take off if I need my powers!"

"Nice." Morro A grinned, giving her a thumbs-up. "And black goes with _everything_." Nicole stared at him.

"How do you know that? You're a _boy._ "

"Just because I was a horrible tyrant doesn't mean I couldn't be fashion conscious." Morro pressed a hand to his chest, striking a pose. "Besides, Reena was _always_ complaining about the lack of variety in fashion that I offered her."

"That's not fair. You had a big job to do, ruling a kingdom and stuff. You had executions to oversee, peasants to tyrannize…" She trailed off as he looked at the ground. "Not funny? Sorry."

"It's okay." He waved it off. "I just don't like thinking about it."

"Well, that's a good thing. Now come on, I heard shouting earlier. I think something's happening." Nicole took his hand and lead him out of her room towards the meeting room, where she found chaos that… wasn't _quite_ panic. The ninja were running around, chatting indistinctly, but no one seemed particularly concerned.

"Is… something going on?" Morro asked, raising his voice a bit in order to be heard over the noise. Jay B skidded to a stop as he passed by them.

"The Preeminent is coming!" He announced. "We just spotted her in the distance. We're making preparations for her attack, which should happen sometime tomorrow evening." He then ran off again. Frowning, Nicole turned to face Morro, who had paled a bit and was staring stiffly at the window. The dark-haired girl followed his gaze to the window, then beyond it to the horizon, where a giant, tentacled monster was floating slowly, steadily towards them.

"Wow." The dream mistress exclaimed, running over to the window and pressing her hands against the glass. "She's so _big_. It's been so long since I've seen her that I forgot how big she is."

"She is big." Morro agreed quietly, following her over. "And cruel, and manipulative- worse than you, even. Because she can read your thoughts, too."

"Oh. I guess you would know. You worked for her for a while." His girlfriend tilted her head. Morro sighed.

"Going on forty-five years, yeah." Nicole spun to face him.

"Wait. You're _old._ " He laughed.

"About sixty, yes. I didn't age while I was a ghost, so… I'm still a kid, really. I've just been here a while."

"Oh. Interesting." She looked back out the window. "Still, I swear she wasn't this big before."

"She… grows, actually. The more souls she curses, the bigger she gets."

"Oh." The dream mistress blinked. "So… not optimal. Bigger means stronger and harder to kill."

"Yeah." Morro sighed, staring through the window at his former boss. "I really hope this works."

"Me too." Nicole folded her arms on the windowsill, resting her chin on them. "Should we find something to do, or just sit here and brood?" Morro chuckled.

"We should probably help. I'll go find Lloyd and ask him what we can do."

"Okay. I'll come too." Nicole straightened up, fighting back the urge to try and give him confidence. Not that her earrings would let her, being made of vengestone, but she had to break the habit. Taking a moment to adjust one of the earrings, the dream mistress followed her boyfriend out of the room, trying to think of some way to cheer him up that didn't involve cheating. It was a few minutes, but finally she said,

"Hey, Morro?" He turned to face her, an eyebrow raised. "Don't worry about the Preeminent, okay? She can't beat us. We might not be able to beat her, but we can't _lose_ this fight." He frowned a bit, considering this, then nodded.

"You're right. With three water masters and an entire ocean… she really can't get at us."

"Yeah. We'll be fine, see?" He smiled a bit.

"Well, we'll still have her floating around, but yeah."

"Then we can leave, right? If it fails?"

"Oh, yeah. It's better than nothing." Morro paused. "We should probably tell Lloyd about that idea. See if he thinks it's plausible."

"Even if he won't leave, we can. You don't have to stay and fight the Preeminent if we can't beat her." Morro frowned.

"And… just abandon the others here?"

"Not 'abandon', but, yeah. You shouldn't have to fight her."

"But I really should." He protested. "After all, I brought her here."

"You did say she was really manipulative, didn't you?"

"…yes."

"And she manipulated you into helping her?"

"Technically, yes."

"Not your fault, then."

"But I still-"

"If _I_ trick someone into thinking a certain way, it's 'cheating', and, 'all your fault, Nicole'." Nicole interrupted him, stopping. "But when _the Preeminent_ tricks someone into thinking a certain way, it's 'just bad judgement on their part', and 'they should have known better'. I've had it with these double standards." Morro cracked a smile.

"Still, you weren't there."

"And you said she's _worse_ than me."

"I really should have known better. If I hadn't been bitter and angry and looking for opportunities for revenge, she wouldn't have been able to manipulate me."

" _All_ manipulation is contextual. If you hadn't been like that, she woulda found another way to get you to do what she wanted." Morro frowned.

"I guess."

" _Especially_ since she can read minds. She must be _very_ good." Nicole mused. "Now come on. Enough self-blaming, what would Lloyd think of you?"

"Uh-"

"Let's go find him and ask." She grabbed his hand, starting down the hall again.

"Wait, Nicole-"

* * *

 **So anyway, I've been sucked into The Greatest Showman fandom, and might actually... post some writing for it.**

 **~FFF**


	76. Impending Arrival

**so for some reason I managed to acquire 3 jobs, hence... less than frequent updates.**

 **my birthday is coming up! It's june 23, and I have an amazon wish list with pretty cheap items that I could try to link if anyone would like to buy your local sad fanfiction writer something.**

 **Review replies:**

 **KitKat: They're chill. They're used to it.**

 **Aurro: It's good. platonic relationships are good. And I'm glad you enjoy my writing! :D**

 **Ebony: Yeah. This one will be far longer than the last book's final battle.**

 **Marblebird: oh thanks a lot fanfiction. and that kai and lloyd conversation was fun to write :D**

 **Ms. Cipher: Heck, _I_ didn't know she was based on Bill. xD**

 **Plumcicle: _WHOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_**

 **If you check the reviews for the last chapter, Nicole's owner, Ms. Cipher16, has added some details about Nicole if anyone is interested!**

* * *

The Preeminent was huge.

Lloyd stared out the window at the huge creature, watching with a mixture of fear and… almost awe as she floated steadily towards them. She already overshadowed the city, the moon behind her causing an eerie glow to shine around her huge body. Even from this far away, Lloyd could feel her… presence. Both Morros had told him that she was a telepath, which didn't really shock him – how else could she communicate with her subjects? – but he didn't expect to be able to… _feel_ her like this. Kind of like hearing a song from really far away, barely more than an echo, but still audible.

Despite what he'd said to Kai, Lloyd had ended up taking a couple hours of the night watch. He wasn't _actually_ so selfish that he would make the others stay up while he slept. Besides, it gave him some time to think. A lot had happened in the past week.

Amazingly enough, Morro and Lloyd 2 appeared to have made up. Lloyd had seen them _actually talking,_ and Morro had started eating with the rest of them at meals again. Nicole had also shown some changes, acting less flippant and a bit more…caring? Less pushy, too.

Mira was out of jail, too. She swore Lila had forced her to betray them by calling in a favor she owed her, and she had no choice but to comply with her demands. Harry had deemed that she was telling the truth, and, well… he was a telepath, so they really couldn't doubt him, even if he was jerky and cranky sometimes.

Charlie, on the other hand, was still locked up, and Lloyd could swear she was enjoying every minute of it. She goaded and mocked them every time they checked on her, and would _not_ shut up about "the Preeminent's undeniable victory over them". Morro 2 had suggested that she may be trying to prove to him that she was 'more loyal' to the Preeminent than he, because he had apparently failed miserably in that area. Or she was just being a troll.

"Anything out of the ordinary?" Lloyd startled at the voice behind him, and turned to see Kai 2 coming up behind him.

"Nothing." The blond shook his head. "She just keeps coming."

"I wonder how close she'll get before she stops." The ghost mused, leaning on the windowsill. "Maybe we can kill her pretty early on."

"I hope so. If she gets into position, we'll set it off."

"Mmm." Kai nodded, and for a few moments they were silent.

"Kai?" Lloyd asked after a bit. "How do you… feel, about the Preeminent?"

"I hate her." Kai replied automatically. "She's a horrible, ghastly creature who's been nothing but trouble to Ninjago. Why would I think otherwise?"

"I dunno." Lloyd turned back to the window. "I guess I was just wondering if you becoming a ghost made you… I don't know, hate her less."

"Oh. Well, no. I still hate her guts."

"That's good to hear." Kai smiled a bit, but didn't look at him, leaning against the wall with a sigh.

"I'm kind of nervous, you know? This is a pretty risky plan, really."

"Yeah. It's gonna take a lot of luck for us to be able to pull this off. Really, we have to trust in your sister…s, and your mom." Kai smiled fondly.

"Well, I'm sure they can pull it off. They're awesome."

"Then we won't have any trouble." Lloyd grinned, and the ghost returned it. "I'm a bit worried about Reena, though. We haven't seen her in a while. I don't really know what to expect."

"With Reena, who knows?" The fire ninja shrugged. "She's an illusionist. Catching people off guard is gonna be her specialty."

"Yeah." Quiet for a moment. "But what is she gonna… do? I mean, yeah, she can make illusions, but short of like, making the army look bigger than it is or something, I don't know." Kai pondered this for a few moments.

"Well... she could physically fight us by making us think she was doing one thing and then doing another for example. But could she couldn't fight a lot of us at once. I don't know, maybe she's just gonna kind of attack us from afar and try to confuse us." Lloyd frowned, then nodded.

"Yeah." The room was quiet again, and Lloyd noted the hundreds of ghosts swarming around the Preeminent's huge form.

"The reason I'm here is actually to take over on watch." The red ninja spoke up at last. "So, you can go sleep."

"Oh. Thanks." Lloyd smiled up at him, which was answered with a thumbs-up from the ghost, before heading off towards his room. Both Morros were asleep, Morro 1 in his own bed and Morro 2 in Lloyd's. As quietly as he could, Lloyd slipped into bed next to him, pillowed his head on his shoulder, and quickly fell asleep.

Out at his post, Kai stared out the window for a long time, then finally glanced over his shoulder to make sure Lloyd was gone.

"Sorry, Lloyd." He said aloud, then vaulted over the windowsill, landing on the bridge, and headed off towards the Preeminent.

* * *

 **This was supposed to be a filler chapter. It really was.**

 **Also, if you look on my dA, which is FirstFandomFangirl, I drew the scene from the very first part of this chapter! I'm proud of it. Go look at it.**

 **~FFF**


	77. Chapter 77

**So I guess I'm updating once a week now.**

 **Review replies:**

 **Aurro: Oh come on, I even proofread that chapter. :/ Sorry I missed it. Also, thank you, and I hope you have a good time too!**

 **KitKat: He's a bit confused.**

 **Ebony: It's not the Preeminent. Well, indirectly, it kinda is.**

 **MNM: I know dude and I'm sorry. I just need to get this story over with because it's dragging on and on. I'll probably write the actual scene in a oneshot, that's what those are for after all.**

 **Marblebird: Ayyy birthday buddies!**

* * *

 _"We can't trust Kai anymore." Kai A's head jerked up at the sound of his name, looking around in surprise. "Not since he became a ghost."_

 _"But_ I'm _a ghost, and you trust me." Kai followed the voices around the corner, hanging back so he wasn't spotted._

 _"That's different. You weren't turned by the Preeminent." It was Jay and Cole –_ his _Jay and Cole, speaking in hushed voices as they stood in the narrow hallway. "He's… he's different." Jay whispered, lowering his voice further. "I've seen the way he looks at us. He's changed. I see murder in his eyes."_

 _"You're right." Cole agreed. "But what are we going to do? We can't let him know we're onto him, but what if he attacks us?"_

 _"I don't know. I'll talk to Lloyd about it, maybe we can catch him by surprise and we can lock him up before he gets the chance." Cole nodded, and the two turned and walked off down the hall. Kai could only stare after them, too stunned to speak. His… his own_ brothers _… didn't_ trust him? _He didn't want to hurt them, he was the same Kai! Why did they think of him like that? He wanted to storm after them,_ demand _to know what was going on, but he couldn't… couldn't move, his feet were frozen to the ground. All he could do was wonder._

 _Why?_

Kai walked across the bridge leading out of Stiix, eyes narrowed and hands clenched tight into fists. What he had told Lloyd was true, he had no love for the Preeminent. But maybe he would be more welcome with her than with those who claimed to be his family.

He didn't understand why, but almost all of his former allies had turned against him. After overhearing that conversation, he had begun to notice everything that confirmed what he had been told – that he was no longer trusted. He saw the fake smiles, the forced laughter, the way they looked at him. Even his own mother looked at him with contempt, because of what he was. The only one who didn't hate him – or hid it better – was Lloyd. Not even his Lloyd, but the one from the other world.

That's why he deserved the apology for what Kai was about to do.

The fire ninja kept walking until he walked in the shadow of the Preeminent, feeling her eyes and thousands of others upon him. He must be close enough now for her to read his mind.

 _"Indeed you are._ " Kai jumped at the voice, stopping and looking up in surprise. The Preeminent had halted her approach, and her subjects no longer swarmed around here.

"Then you know why I'm here." He said loudly, staring up at her.

 _"I do. Your family has turned against you."_ A tentacle slithered over to him, and he stepped away, uneasy. _"But I never abandon those who are loyal to me."_

"Then I want to join you!" Kai stepped closer, straightening up. "But I have one condition."

 _"You want me to spare the green ninja."_ Of course, she already knew.

"…yes. He's the only one who still trusts me." And by doing this, he was betraying that trust. He really owed him.

 _"Very well. I will spare Lloyd."_ Kai let out a breath of relief. _"But he will have to live under my rule regardless when I stamp out the resistance."_

"Maybe he'll join you too when he realizes there's no point." He knew that was impossible, though, even as he said it. Lloyd would never, _ever_ stop fighting for what he thought was right.

 _"Perhaps. Now come."_ The tentacle wrapped around him gently, and he was lifted up, up, up, until he was level with the Preeminent's huge eye. _"Tell my Queen exactly how the ninja plan to defend their last stand."_ Even higher he rose, until he was placed on top of the orb that made up most of the Preeminent's body. When he was released, he struggled a bit to find his footing, then looked around in search of the Preeminent's 'Queen'.

It didn't take long to find the ghost woman, watching from about ten feet away with a delicate crown balanced on top of her head and a satisfied smirk on her face.

Reena.

TheDarknessReturn

The Preeminent's progress was off.

While, according to the Zanes, she was moving at the same speed that she had been the previous night, she was about two miles farther away than she should be. That could only mean that she must have stopped during the night, but none of those on watch last night had reported seeing her do so. Then again, she moved so slowly and was so big that it was hard to see her progress.

After all, Lloyd mused, watching through the window as a soft rain fell on Stiix, it didn't make much difference. All it meant was that she would arrive a bit later, and light was no issue as she and all her subjects glowed. Still, it seemed odd. She didn't need to stop and rest, did she? Morro 2 said she didn't, he would probably know. So why…?

It was probably pointless for him to be mulling over it like this, the real reason was probably something stupid like half the ghost army fell into a hole and had to take time getting out. With the ghosts, who could tell?

The base had been very quiet all day, and the city in general. It felt like everyone was holding their breath in preparation for the Preeminent's arrival, as if it would keep her from hurting them. As if it would keep her away.

The only one who was obviously _not_ holding his breath was Morro 2.

It was becoming increasingly clear how much Morro hated this plan. He had come out of his room for breakfast, but was too restless to eat and ended up pacing up and down the halls instead. Finally, he had retreated back to his room, Nicole following him back - probably so she could try to calm him down. Lloyd hadn't seen either of them since.

Now was as good a time as ever to check on them, since all Lloyd was doing was staring out the window and contemplating life. Straightening up, the blond headed back towards his room, passing many of the others along the way. Most of them were just sitting around, some quietly talking but most just sitting around and thinking. Holding their breath.

When Lloyd arrived at his room, he knocked quietly on the door, and was answered by a call,

"Come in," from Nicole. Slowly, carefully, he opened the door – he couldn't bring himself to break the stillness that lay over the monastery. As soon as he caught sight of Morro, his heart sank. His friend was lying in bed, curled up in a miserable ball.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, immediately berating himself for asking such a pointless question.

"Not really." A female voice answered for him, and Lloyd glanced to his right to see Nicole sitting against the wall. "He's… really scared. I think the Preeminent is affecting him somehow, this… seems worse than normal scared." Lloyd frowned. Could she still affect him, even though he was human now? Did she still have some hold on his soul?

"Hey," He started, heading over to Morro and sitting down on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?" The wind master didn't answer, and Lloyd touched his shoulder, frowning when he flinched at his touch. "Can you hear me?" Morro took a deep breath, then let it out.

"Yeah."

"Can you sit up and talk to me?" Morro shook his head. "Why not?" The former king paused, then answered,

"Don't want to-" His voice cracked, and he coughed to try to cover it up. "Don't want to talk."

"Why not?" Lloyd knew he was on the verge of crying, and was trying to hide it, but it wouldn't do him any good.

"I just _don't_. Go away." Morro curled up a little bit more, hiding his face in his hands. Lloyd sighed, He didn't sound like he was going to give up without a fight.

"Okay." He let go of him. "I'm leaving." Standing up, he turned and started to leave the room – stopping short when he heard a shuddering sob. So much for that. Turning back, Lloyd climbed onto the bed next to him, lying down and wrapping his arms around him. "It's okay to cry." He murmured as Morro pressed his hands to his face. Nicole shuffled to her feet, fiddling with her earring as she started to leave the room.

"I'll let you do your thing." She whispered before fleeing. As soon as she was gone, Morro stopped trying to hold his tears back and just cried.

"I'm _scared_." He choked out through his tears. "I know- I know the wh-whole plan d-depends on her c-coming here, but I j-just want her to _g-go away_ , I d-don't w-wanna have to see her e-ever again…" He let out another sob. "Sh-she wanted me killed, she t-tried to have me killed, what if- what if I'm their primary target, what if they-" A hiccup cut him off and Lloyd took the opportunity to gently put a hand over his mouth.

"We're not gonna let her get to you, okay? I promise." Morro pushed his hand away.

"Y-you're the green ninja." He protested. "Y-you have to p-protect the people. You c-can't spend your time protecting me."

"You're one of the people, aren't you? And it won't be just me. Do you think Nicole's going to leave your side if she thinks there's even the slightest chance you'd be in danger? And your double and Indigo care about you too, they'll watch out for you. And Morro-" Lloyd waited until he was sure he was listening to continue. "If you want, we can bring you somewhere safe. We have the Realm Crystal, we could bring you to another Realm until the battle's over." Morro shook his head quickly.

"The s-safest place I can think of is next to you."

"Okay." Lloyd smiled, hugging him tighter. "Then that's where you'll stay. I won't let her hurt you, I promise." Morro sniffled.

"Okay…"

"Do you wanna stay here and rest? Or do you wanna get up?"

"I don't want to get up looking like a wreck…"

"Will you come with me to the bathroom so I can help you clean up?" Morro nodded, sitting up and rubbing his sleeve across his face. Lloyd helped him to his feet, then out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom where he helped him wash his face. Once he looked more presentable, the two rejoined the others in their fascinating activity of sitting around and waiting for something to happen.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

 **raise your hand if you agree that reena is a heck**

 **~FFF**

 **P.S. I know only like 1 of my regular reviews has seen the greatest showman, but if any of y'all are interested I _wrote a fic for it_**


	78. Round One

**yeet**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ms. Cipher: It's posted if you're interested! I just posted a second part too :P**

 **Arianna: thanks arianna**

 **KitKat: If you think THAT'S unexpected, look what I have in these NEXT few chapters**

 **MarbleBird: I... know what you mean, but that's worded... really weirdly. xD**

 **Ebony: She might possibly have been. And yeah, it'll probably be fine. I might kill off a few people for being-realistic purposes. Who knows?  
**

 **Entity: Reena is a bad child, you're right. And poor Kai 1-B doesn't deserve that, he's a good child :(**

 **MNM: I haven't watched the season 9 trailer, or any of season 8 because I'm shunning it and it will probably break my heart if I do (an irl friend has spoiled it for me after all). But if Morro's alive I will totally watch it.**

 **Aurro: Hello! And yes, it's A. xD**

* * *

The Preeminent had stopped, but her army kept going.

As the time to fight grew nearer, Lloyd waited at the edge of the city, geared up in deepstone and holding Morro 2's hand. The wind master was rightfully nervous as the army approached the city, but he refused to leave his side. He was probably right, after all, in that the safest place during this battle was right here, where the ninja were.

As the bridge was the only way for the ghosts to get into the city, all the fighters were gathered there, from Indigo to Harry, while the civilians hid in their homes. The other Indigo and her family, as well as Sensei Wu, had stayed back at the base, but basically everyone else was here Lloyd's father was at the very front of the group, wearing deepstone armor so he could touch the ghosts and a green cape that flowed out behind him in the wind, because _someone_ (the Nyas who designed his armor) thought he should look _really cool_. And it worked.

The Preeminent, apparently, was satisfied with watching from afar, as she had stopped and was having her army attack without her. Maybe her plan was to just besiege them until they were starved out and forced to give up. Unbeknownst to her, however, they had a backup plan, which kept them from ever being starved into submission.

"Seven - times - two - is - seventy two." T.E.C.M.I. announced from behind them,, the trash-can-shaped robot resting comfortably on a wooden box.

"That is, in fact, incorrect." Zane 2 informed her.

"Ain't!" The food-making AI argued. "I can do math! I'm a _computer!_ "

"A computer who is bad at math, it appears." A quick journey across the country to the base of Mouth Vetruvius had given the ninja the means to revisit T.E.C.M.I.'s creator, Techi, and her husband Damien. The self-proclaimed 'technopath' was more than happy to lend them T.E.C.M.I., or, at least, that's what Lloyd had gotten out of all her chattering. Whatever the case, she had let them leave with her food machine, and now, with three water masters and an entire ocean, they had a basically limitless supply of food. The Preeminent would be forced to come in and fight them herself.

As the sea of ghosts began to cross the long bridge that linked Stiix to the mainland, Morro squeezed Lloyd's hand and stepped behind him a bit.

"It's gonna be fine, okay?" Lloyd tried to reassure him. "We've got everything planned out, and, even if something happens that we don't expect, we're good at what we do. We've got this." Morro swallowed, then nodded.

"Okay." The ghosts were about halfway across. Lloyd could feel the tension in the air everyone holding their breath as they waited for their cue.

Two hundred feet away.

Fifty feet away.

Ten feet away.

"Now!" Lloyd yelled, and, in perfect unison, both Coles shoved their hands forward. The huge chunks of rock they had placed beneath the city beforehand shot forward, smashing through the supports that held the bridge up. As Lloyd watched, nearly half the Preeminent's army fell, screaming, into the churning sea.

The rest of the army stopped short on the other side, chattering uncertainly. It was a long way from the city to the mainland, and they were now completely cut off. The Preeminent would have to come in closer now.

Unfortunately, the Preeminent was more creative than they were. As Lloyd watched, a single figure pushed his way to the front line, lifted his hands, and began to glow purple. Clouse. Lloyd scowled as a shimmering, purple bridge began to stretch across the gap. It was pretty narrow, not many ghosts could cross at once...

"Dad!" Lloyd yelled. "Are you ready?"

"I'm always ready, son." His father grinned over his shoulder at him. "Clouse never could beat me in a fight, and that's not going to stop now."

"Great. Morros, are you ready?" Lloyd glanced at each of them in turn, and they nodded. "Good. Then we're ready." Giving Morro's hand a squeeze, Lloyd turned back to the still-growing bridge, watching the ghosts start to cross again.

As soon as it reached their side, Lloyd's father took off running across it, barreling into every ghost he could and knocking them off into the sea.

Lloyd watched with a wide grin on his face as his father took on the entire army by himself, he stood at the narrowest point of the bridge, either punching or just slamming himself into every ghost that came near him. They tried to outnumber him, to overwhelm him, but he took them out so quickly that they couldn't get enough there at once to win a fight with him. Eventually, the ghosts managed to knock him off the bridge, but the Morros immediately lifted him back up and he continued fighting.

Before long, the stream of ghosts had dwindled enough that Lloyd's father could begin to press forward, drawing a deepstone sword and hacking his way through the ghosts blocking his path - the Preeminent was far enough away that the ghosts that she recreated would not rejoin the fight for a good ten minutes at least. Clouse was visibly stressed as Garmadon made his way towards him, perhaps realizing that he was the target. With him out of the way, the Preeminent would be forced to fight them herself.

The Morros kept Lloyd's father on the bridge as he hacked his way through swarms of ghosts, but less of them were even making it onto the bridge as he neared the other side. It was hard to tell from the distance, but it looked like they were too scared to face him. _This_ was a good feeling.

Finally, Garmadon made it to the mainland, and was immediately swarmed from all sides by the ghosts waiting there. For a moment, it looked like he wouldn't be able to continue, but then he broke free and spun around, his double-edged sword cutting through and killing all the ghosts in a wide circle around him. The remaining ghosts backed away in alarm. Were they just realizing that he was unbeatable? Instead of trying to restrain him, the ghosts just got out of his way as he strode towards Clouse, who was straining to keep the bridge active. Lloyd couldn't see exactly what happened, but for a few moments they just stood in front of each other, probably talking. Finally, his father decked Clouse across the face and knocked him out.

Immediately, the bridge began to vanish, and Garmadon grabbed Clouse by the arm and began to drag him towards the gap.

"Morro, come on!" Morro 1 yelled, and his double startled before letting go of Lloyd's hand and running to join him as he summoned his dragon. The two took off, flying towards the mainland as Lloyd's father began to cross the rapidly-deteriorating bridge. When he reached the edge, he launched himself off into midair, dragging Clouse with him, and began to fall towards the ocean. As both sides watched with rapt attention, the Morros caught him, having just flown within range to use their powers before he plummeted into the sea.

"It worked!" Lloyd whooped as they flew back within earshot and set Garmadon down on the shore, Clouse dumped unceremoniously next to him.

"Barely. You're _heavy,_ old man." Morro 1 teased as he set down his dragon next to him.

"It's not me, it's this armor." Lloyd's father grumbled. "Well, we've taken out their only means of getting into the city. Well done, son." Lloyd was opening his mouth to reply when a flash of green caught his eyes, and he turned in surprise towards the gap where the bridge used to be before recoiling in shock.

Masses of strangleweed were reaching out of the water, coiling around itself and the remains of the bridge and lifting them up to become a solid platform again.

"Wh- what that-" the blond started, but broke off at the sight of four figures beginning to cross the newly-made bridge while the rest of the army stayed behind. The one in front was a ghost, holding the arm of a second - a human boy. At their easy pace, it was a few moments before they were close enough for Lloyd to recognize them, but when he did, he let out a shout of warning to the others.

" _Reena!_ "

* * *

 **y'all remember tecmi? yall remember my favorite trash can robot?**

 **~FFF**


	79. Round Two

**This is... a really long chapter**

 **Review replies:**

 **Rwbygirl: Agreed.**

 **Ebony: Reena is my favorite girl.**

 **Entity: Agreed**

 **MNM: I heard from another source that the people in charge say he's never coming back...**

 **warning: very long**

* * *

Reena strutted across her new bridge, a satisfied smirk on her face as the ninja watched her in shock. She was- she was a _ghost,_ for starters, and, if her crown was any indication, she had taken over ruling Ninjago in Bansha's stead. She looked _very_ confident – a bad sign. Lloyd knew from the moment he saw her that he could no longer trust his senses.

The boy walking next to her – though Lloyd barely recognized him – was Gray, the plant master. He must have created the bridge. His hood was down, revealing a head of pale, blond hair, and he was _smiling._ He looked _happy_. Why _anyone_ would be happy to have Reena hanging onto them like a leech was beyond him, so presumably she was tricking him somehow. Manipulating him.

The third figure was Claire, Gray's partner. She looked pretty much like she normally did, which was… bordering on insane. And the last figure was-

" _Kai!_ " Lloyd 2 screamed, and Lloyd 1 recoiled in nearly equal shock as he recognized him. _Kai 2_ was walking towards them alongside Reena, a cold expression on his pale face. Lloyd shook his head. No. Kai would never join the Preeminent.

"It's not- it's not Kai." He called to the others. "It's an illusion."

"I'm _not_ an illusion." 'Kai' snapped. "You- _all_ of you – shunned and mistrusted me. Because I'm a _ghost._ Because I _died_ for our cause. All of you…" He trailed off as he met Lloyd's eyes and looked away.

"Kai, what are you _talking_ about?" Morro 1 demanded. " _None_ of us have even _considered-_ "

"Morro, don't bother. It's just an illusion." Indigo interrupted. "It has to be. Kai's…" She turned around to scan the group, and her voice faltered. "Has… _anyone_ seen Kai 2?"

"Not since yesterday night, when he took over for me on watch…" Lloyd trailed off. "Kai, you didn't-"

"Indigo, I was honestly surprised when I saw you siding with them." Kai crossed his arms, his voice cold. "You're a ghost, after all. I thought you'd get it. But I guess it makes sense that you'd side with your boyfriend."

"Kai, you're not making any sense." Lloyd protested. "'Her boyfriend'- Morro's a ghost too! And if this is about me asking if you becoming a ghost made you more sympathetic to the Preeminent, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, Lloyd, no," Kai hastened to say, dropping his arms from where they were crossed across his chest. "You're the _only one_ who didn't turn against me. That's why I got the Preeminent to spare you." Lloyd's heart dropped into his stomach.

"You- you _joined_ the _Preeminent?_ "

"Well I wasn't going to stay here, with all of _them!_ " Kai gestured accusingly to the rest of the good guys. "They barely even tried to hide how much they hate me!"

"Kai- if you're not an illusion-" Cole 2 started. "You're being manipulated by Reena, you can't trust her!"

"As if I'd believe anything from you, _Cole_." Kai snapped. "When you and Jay were the ones who _started_ all this." Cole looked wounded.

"Kai, what are you talking about? You're our _brother_. We _love_ you."

"Shut up!" Kai yelled, his hands bursting into flames and causing Claire to jump back. "I know what you think of me- _all_ of you! Which is why you deserve this. For _betraying_ me. Because I _was_ your brother, I _died_ for you. But apparently it wasn't enough." His face darkened. "It will _never_ be enough." He stepped back, apparently finished, and Reena smiled, lifting her free hand. Immediately, smoke filled the air, blocking their view of one another, and Lloyd found himself cut off. Alone.

"MORRO! DAD!" He yelled in alarm, head whipping back and forth as he looked for anyone, any _thing_ , really, in Reena's smoke. No response.

"You'd do well to sit this one out, green ninja." A voice made him whirl around, and assume a fighting stance as he spotted Reena's form through the smoke. "Kai has ensured your safety after the Preeminent's victory, but your immunity may not last if you keep on trying to resist. Besides, it's too late to stop her now."

"In your dreams." Lloyd snapped, charging towards her. She smirked as he got closer, then vanished, leaving Morro 2 in her place.

"Ahhh! Lloyd?!" The wind master stumbled back, lifting both hands to protect himself. "Don't hurt me! It's me!"

"I'm sorry!" The blond apologized, jerking back. "I thought you were Reena, she-" He was rudely cut off by Morro spinning around and punching him in the face.

"Are you sure I'm not?" The illusionist reappeared, a coy smile on her face as Lloyd pressed a hand to his throbbing cheek. "Or is it just your imagination?" Reena vanished again, leaving Morro, staring at him in bewilderment.

"Lloyd?" He asked in concern, reaching towards him. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not." The blond hissed through gritted teeth, backing away from him. He had no idea if Morro was real or not.

"Come on, Lloyd, hit me." Reena taunted, appearing in Morro's place once more. "Come on! Don't be chicken!"

"No." Lloyd growled. "Get away from me."

"Wh- what?" He blinked, and it was Morro again. "'Get away', what- what did I do?"

"Reena, _quit it!_ " Lloyd snapped, spinning around to glare at the smoke. "It's not funny!"

"No, no, this is hilarious." When Reena's voice sounded behind him once again, he whirled around and punched her as hard as he could… only to see Morro go flying a couple feet back and thud to the ground on the wooden bridge.

"Lloyd, wh-what…" Tears filled Morro's eyes, and he stumbled to his feet and fled into the smoke.

"M- oh, Reena, I'm going to _kill you!_ " Lloyd screamed into the obscuring smoke.

He could almost swear he heard it laughing.

TheDarknessReturn

Fighting Claire reminded Indigo of a very complicated, high-stakes game of tag.

The two girls walked in a slow circle around each other, eyes locked on each others' bodies as they waited for the other to strike. They knew what each other could do. It was a race to see who could touch the other first.

"So Claire, I thought you weren't a big fan of doing what the Preeminent says." Indigo said conversationally, trying to distract her. If she could get her attention off her for _one_ second, she could turn invisible and get her before she had a chance to react.

"I'm not. I'm a big fan of lots and lots of money." Claire said with a giggle and a flip of her hair. "Reena-darling has promised me a share of the _entire world's_ wealth. Can you imagine that? All that money..." The human girl got a faraway look in her eye, and Indigo raised an eyebrow. She had her now.

"What would you spend it all on?" She asked, edging a bit closer.

"Well, I'd probably sink some into buying my own little country, if I wasn't just awarded one for my help winning this battle." She frowned, pressing a hand to her chin. "A few dozen peasants, too. My own little country to rule. Build myself a nice little castle, and live out eternity there." Her frown turned into a smile, and she let out a dreamy sigh. Indigo took her chance. Turning invisible, Indigo charged at her, jumping at her to tackle her to the ground. As long as she didn't move…

"Oh come on, I'm _crazy_ , but I'm not _stupid_." Claire sidestepped her attack and Indigo thudded to the ground with a yelp. How did she-?! "The smoke moves when you do, dummy." Claire poked her with her foot, and her heart sank. Stupid smoke. Rolling over, Indigo dropped invisibility and raised her hands in the air.

"Alright, you win." Claire tilted her head.

"What, are you- are you surrendering?"

"Why not?" The ghost girl shrugged. "I can't beat you. Not since you touched me. I know what your powers are." The jinx master huffed,

"You're no fun." But unhooked a pair of vengestone cuffs from her belt and knelt down next to her, reaching them towards Indigo's wrists.

It was then that a foot slammed into Claire's head and knocked her out cold.

"Sorry about your luck." Morro 1 quipped as he walked out of the smoke. Indigo snickered, trying to get to her feet, but stumbled and crashed back down on the bridge.

"Ow. Oops. Stupid jinx." She muttered. Chuckling, Morro made his way over to her, helping her to her feet before kneeling down and chaining Claire with her own cuffs. Instead of getting back up, however, Morro just turned to face his girlfriend, still down on one knee.

"Indigo, I have something I need to ask you." Indigo stared blankly at him as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a plain, copper-colored ring.

"Are we- doing this- now?" She asked haltingly, her eyes wide with shock.

"I'm afraid we might not get the chance later." Morro gestured to the smoke – the chaos – around them, and Indigo understood. "Indigo, would you make me the happiest ghost in all of the Sixteen Realms, and do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Indigo pressed her hands over her face, unable to hide a grin.

"You _dork,_ you don't even have to ask." She ran and tackle-hugged him, almost missing and forcing him to catch her. Stupid jinx. "But since you did, and so nicely at that, what can I say except yes?" Morro laughed out loud, almost sounding relieved as he hugged her tight to his chest and kissed her hair.

"Give me your hand." He instructed, and she held up her left hand, watching as he slid the copper band onto her ring finger. It was a perfect fit. How did he manage that? She quickly forgot to ask, however, as he pulled her close and kissed her.

"I love you, Indigo." He murmured after a moment, pulling away. Indigo grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him closer so she could kiss him back.

"I love you too, Morro."

TheDarknessReturn

"I'm _not_ being manipulated. _You're_ the manipulator." Kai A growled, his hands glowing with the flames he held as Nicole slowly removed her earring.

"I can't make you _see_ things, Kai, and you _know_ Reena can." She replied as she carefully lowered the vengestone jewelry into her pocket. "You know how Reena works, and you have to believe me when I say she's working very hard to turn you against your friends."

"I don't 'have' to believe _anything_ you say!" The fire master snapped, hurling a fireball at her. Nicole scrambled to dodge it.

"Kai," She reached out towards him, pressing him to believe her. To be more receptive to what she was trying to tell him. "We are not your enemies. Reena is."

"You're in my head!" The ghost boy shouted. "I know you are! Stop it!"

"We are not your enemies, Kai. _I_ am not your enemy." Nicole pushed harder, but he didn't budge.

" _You_ have _always_ been my enemy! I don't know why Lloyd ever let you into the base, but you've been nothing but trouble!" Kai launched another fireball at her, and this one singed her hair as it flew past. She needed to pick this up.

"Alright, if you won't listen…" Nicole lifted her other hand towards him. "…sleep."

"Huh?" Kai tensed up more. "What are you…"

"Sleep." She ordered, and he stumbled back as the force of her powers hit him.

"Stop it!" He yelled as his body began to sag from exhaustion. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

"Sorry, Kai, but you're not yourself." Nicole shook her head. " _Sleep._ " She snapped her fingers, and Kai was out like a light, crumpling to the ground as the fire in his hands went out. Nicole sighed, taking her earring from her pocket and re-fastening it in her ear.

"Is it bad that I kinda enjoyed that?" She asked Kai's motionless body. No answer. "I thought as much."

TheDarknessReturn

"Why are you doing this?" Morro A demanded, vaulting over a vine that was snaking towards his foot and landing on one of the bridge's support posts. "I know you don't like us, but why work for Reena and the Preeminent?"

"I don't know who this 'Reena' is," Gray replied, sounding unfazed as he sent tendrils of strangleweed shooting up between the boards of the bridge. "But Emma and I are finally reunited, and I am _not_ losing her again."

"Emma…? Your girlfriend? The one who was killed?" Morro jumped off the post, hovering in midair on a gust of wind.

"She's a ghost. She found me." The platinum-blond shot an admiring glance in the direction of the others' fight. "I'm never letting go of her again."

"That… that girl you crossed the bridge with… that's Emma?" The wind master asked with a frown, shoving a vine away as it tried to wrap around his ankle. Gray's face brightened.

"Yes, that's her."

"Gray… that's Reena. She's using you." Gray was a pawn. Just like he had been. Had Reena been manipulating him in the same way, he wondered?

"What? You lie." The plant master's face darkened again, and the vine shot back up with renewed vigor, grabbing Morro's ankle and jerking him down towards the bridge. "Reena… that's the name of the girl who used to work for you. Dark hair, haunting eyes – _not_ my Emma." The strangleweed began to coil up Morro's legs as he was dragged down further, and he shuddered, trying to yank free, but having no luck against the strong vines.

"Gray, Reena is an illusionist- an elemental master. She made herself look like Emma so she could use you, use your power for her gain." Morro tried again to explain. "Ask her something only Emma would know. I promise you, she'll get it wrong." Gray hesitated, and the vines stopped pulling him down. "She's _using_ Emma, Gray." Morro added. For a long time, his attacker was silent, before finally yelling into the smoke,

" _Emma!_ " After a few seconds, Reena emerged from the shifting smoke.

"Yes, darling?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him, but his face only hardened.

"Emma, what is your favorite flower?" He asked quietly. She blinked, looking stunned, before her eyes alit on the rose growing I his hand.

"…roses, of course." She tried.

" _Wrong!_ " Gray crushed the flower in his hand, and strangleweed sprung up from the ocean around her, wrapping her into a cocoon and making her yelp in shock. "Emma doesn't _have_ a favorite flower. She loved _every_ flower equally." His face was cold, and all traces of the happy man he had been just minutes before was gone.

"She was _not_ a flirt, she'd _never_ call me 'darling'. She _never_ hung off of me. I was so _blinded_ by the thought that Emma might- _might_ – be alive, that I let myself be tricked. You…" His voice lowered to a growl. "You _used_ me. Used _Emma._ " Gray clenched his fist tighter, and the bridge underneath her collapsed, dragged into the sea by the strangleweed and leaving her suspended in midair by a solid mass of the plant. "I'm going to drown you like the rat you are." He ground out as Reena struggled in her restraints, but Morro cried out as she was dragged down towards the water.

"Gray, stop!" He stopped. "She'll just come back. We need to get her in Vengestone and lock her up, so she can't affect the battle anymore." Gray gritted his teeth, but nodded, releasing Morro and turning his full attention to Reena. "Keep her here. I'm going to go get help, okay? But whatever you do, don't let her go. No matter what you see." Eyes narrowed into slits, Gray nodded. Stumbling to his feet, Morro headed off in search of Lloyd. He'd know where to find something vengestone. Once Reena was captive, the greatest thing standing in the way of their victory would be gone.

TheDarknessReturn

"…did was put him to sleep. He's not hurt."

"He'd better not be."

"Oh, come on, 'Dreea. You still don't trust me?"

"Honestly, no."

"Great. Thanks." Kai A stirred at the sound of voices, and blinked his eyes open to see Nicole and Andreea sitting beside him on the hard bridge. They looked down at him when he moved, and he was struck by the _hatred_ in their eyes.

"G-get away from me!" The fire ninja yelped, scrambling to his feet and backing away.

"Kai, get back here." Nicole ordered. "Or I'll knock you out again."

"I'm not afraid of you!" Kai snapped, lighting his hands aflame.

"Don't touch him! We've got Reena." A voice sounded through the smoke, and Kai looked up to see Lloyd B, Morro A, and Gray come into view, dragging a well-wrapped Reena behind them. Gray had turned traitor?!

"Andreea, vengestone?" Lloyd held out a hand towards the diamond master, who unhooked a pair of the black cuffs from her belt of her gi and offered them to him. Nodding his thanks, Lloyd turned and snapped the cuffs onto Reena's wrists.

Immediately, the cloud of smoke vanished, but it wasn't all that disappeared.

Kai's hands went out, and he stumbled back in confusion, falling back onto his knees as the rest of the good guys were revealed nearby, running back to join them. A lot of them were watching him, and they looked… concerned. Not angry, and definitely not hateful.

"Kai!" Cole – _his_ Cole – ran towards him, skidding to a stop a few feet in front of him. "Are you okay? The smoke was so thick I lost you!"

"I-I'm fine," Kai stammered, but his head was spinning. Had he… had it all been a trick? Were they telling the truth?

"Kai, Reena's not influencing you anymore, so do you… believe us?" Cole knelt in front of him, and Kai edged back. He still wasn't sure if this was some sort of trick, he _knew_ what he saw, and…

…and with Reena, that meant nothing.

Kai felt tears well up in his eyes and covered his face with his arm, choking out "I'm _sorry,_ " as his brother reached forward and pulled him into a hug. The fire ninja buried his face in his shoulder as Cole squeezed him tight, whispering, "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry…"

"It's okay. It's not your fault, Reena took advantage of you." Cole tried to reassure him, patting his messy hair.

"No, y-you don't get it." Kai protested tearfully. "I told the P-Preeminent _everything_."

"Everything?"

" _Everything._ The Preeminent knows _all_ our plans." He let out a sob. "And I'm the one who t-told her." Cole took a deep breath, then let it out.

"This might complicate things a bit."

* * *

 **For the record, Morro's proposal? completely unplanned. they did that entirely on their own. I'm out of the loop at this point.**

 **~FFF**


	80. Interlude

**me borthday is 2morrow**

 **so uhh... definitely no update on this tomorrow. I'm thinking about writing a ottwcd oneshot for my birthday (for those who read that), but not this.**

 **Review replies:**

 **Arianna: Sounds about right.**

 **Ebony: I'm glad you enjoyed it haha. I spent a lot of time on that...**

 **Entity: She totally had it coming. And they will both appreciate cookies!**

 **Aurro: Yearly? I've never even had someone get married before!**

 **MNM: It sucks. :( There's so much more they could have done with Morro, this story is proof of that.**

 **KitKat: HAHA SAME**

* * *

Lloyd stared.

"You've got to be joking."

"No, no." Kai 2 shook his head. "I told her everything. A-and even if I didn't, she can read my mind, so, when I got close…" The red ninja pressed his face into Cole 2's shoulder. "I'm s-sorry…" Lloyd blew out a frustrated breath.

"It's okay. It's fine. You were tricked." Kai shook his head.

"I w-was reckless, a-and acted on my emotions, and-"

"You thought everyone hated you! I can't blame you for acting like you did." Granted, his first reaction would _not_ have been to run off and join the Preeminent. But Kai was… not him. "It's not the end of the world. We just have to come up with a new plan. Quickly." Kai shook his head, distraught.

"She's n-never gonna get close, not n-now."

"Then what's that?" Morro 2 spoke up, and Lloyd looked up to see the Preeminent resuming her journey towards them.

"That's… odd." The blond frowned as Kai lifted his head in shock. "She's… not close enough to spring the trap, she'll probably stop before she hits it. Regardless, Coles, Nyas, go. Get in position." Cole looked up at him, then back down at Kai. "Bring him back to the base first. And Gray, take Reena there. Make _sure_ she doesn't escape, and that includes killing her." Gray gave him a curt nod, then started walking off, Reena dragged behind him on the ground. Cole, however, hesitated.

"I don't wanna leave him alone, he's… a bit unstable."

"'A bit'." Kai muttered bitterly. Lloyd frowned.

"Well… Kai, do you wanna go with them to their position?" The brunette's head popped up in surprise.

"You… trust me?"

"Why not? You're my _brother_." Lloyd gestured to him with both hands. "You practically _raised_ me. Well, not _you_ , but… you know what I mean. Of _course_ I trust you. I trust basically everyone, which some would say is a character flaw." He shot a glance at Morro 1, who ignored him in favor of Indigo. "I'm rambling, but my point is yes, I trust you. You've obviously realized that you were used, and you came back." Kai sniffled.

"I-I… then… yeah, I wanna go."

"Okay. All of you, hurry. We have no idea what the Preeminent's going to do next." Cole helped Kai to his feet, then they ran off to join the others. "Everyone else, just… wait. I don't know… what to expect."

"I'm gonna go check on the others." Morro 1 announced. "Indigo, c'mon." They grinned at each other, then ran off. Something weird was going on with them.

For some reason, it made him think of Jessica, and he turned to scan the group for her. It took him a moment, but he finally spotted her on the other side, watching the Preeminent in the distance. Lloyd felt a pang of guilt. He'd made far too little time for her over the past weeks. He'd been busy, but that wasn't an excuse.

Since there was really nothing to do but wait, Lloyd made his way over to talk to her.

"Jessica?" He tried to catch her attention as he got close, and she jumped.

"Oh. Lloyd!" She smiled up at him. "Nice to, um, talk to you."

"Is that a subtle way of saying 'Lloyd spend some more time with me you degenerate boyfriend'?" Jessica snorted.

"Well, I wouldn't use the word 'degenerate'. But I have missed you."

"I'm sorry. I've been… really busy. But I've still had plenty of time that I could have spent with you, and I… didn't. So… sorry."

"It's okay." The daredevil patted his arm. "You're… kinda taking over Sensei's job at this point. So you're understandably busy." Lloyd frowned.

"I have, haven't I?"

"Except the being-cryptic-and-confusing part. You're… always really honest." Jessica smiled, slipping her hand into his. "I've always liked that about you." Lloyd grinned.

"True. Even when I'm a lousy boyfriend and don't acknowledge your existence for weeks at a time, at least I'm honest!" His girlfriend rolled her eyes.

"You're trying to save the universe. And a few of the bad guys along the way." Lloyd blinked.

"A few?"

"Morro 2, Soul Archer 2, Nicole, technically, sort of, your own double, Gray, Kai 2, you just brought him back…" Jessica let go of him to tick them off her fingers.

"Oh. I'd completely forgotten about Soul Archer, to be honest. Where's he been?"

"He and Bansha have been mostly hanging out together. I guess she misses her Soul Archer."

"I guess. What about Tori? Haven't seen her around much either."

"She's out a lot. Not sure what she's doing. The time she spends at the base she typically spends with Lloyd 2, 'cause… they were friends as kids." Lloyd sighed.

"I wish my Tori was like that."

"Me too. Then I wouldn't have to be constantly keeping an eye out for impending kidnappings." She grimaced, and Lloyd chuckled.

"It was just one time."

" _Two._ "

"You sure? Oh, wait, you're right." Lloyd sat down on the bridge, and Jessica followed him down. "Do you know why Indigo and Morro are acting kinda funny? Kinda giddy." Jessica grinned.

"Well, I'm not _sure_ about anything, but I _think_ I saw a ring on her finger…" The brunette lifted her left hand and wiggled her fingers. It took Lloyd a few moments to realize what she meant, then his eyes widened.

"They're _engaged?_ "

"That's the implication, yep!"

"That's so _weird_." Lloyd said with a laugh. "I still think of Indigo as a kid, and Morro's… my best friend. The thought of him getting married is just… whoa."

"'Still'? Isn't she like 20?" Jessica raised an eyebrow.

"She told us she was 15 when we first met her, I guess to try to keep us from giving her a hard time about her size." He shrugged. "I dunno. After she died, she didn't see any point in hiding her real age, so…" He trailed off. "Oh, Jessica, that reminds me, I need to ask you something." She gave him a funny look.

"If you're going to propose to me, I think we're still a bit young." Lloyd huffed.

"I was just going to ask if 'Danger' was your real last name, but then you had to go and make it awkward." Jessica let out a bark of laughter.

"Sorry. It's Williams, actually."

"Williams." Lloyd tested out the word. "Jessica Williams."

"Doesn't have quite the same ring to it as 'Jessica Danger', eh?"

"Personally, I'm partial to 'Jessica Garmadon'." Lloyd winked at her, and she gave him another funny look.

"Are you proposing now?"

"No! I'm teasing you! Geez!" Lloyd threw his hands up in the air. "I promise, I won't propose to you until I'm at least sixteen."

"How old are you now?"

"Um… thirteen through fifteen. Let me think." He frowned, cupping his chin in his hand as he stared out over the water. "About fourteen at this point, I think."

"What year were you born?"

"I have no idea. Ask my dad."

"Mmm." Apparently not really having an answer for that, Jessica joined him in staring morosely over the ocean. "Does she… look like she's moving faster?"

"Huh?" She… did, kinda. "That's a bad sign." Lloyd scrambled back to his feet. "Stay safe, okay? I gotta get back to my day job." Jessica blew him a kiss.

"I will. Go do your thing." Lloyd made a show of 'catching' the kiss and pressing it to his heart, making her giggle, before running off to relay the information to the others.

Break time was over.

* * *

 **The plan was to have the final battle be in three chapters, but I couldn't smush all that information into one more chapter, so here's some filler featuring my favorite daredevil who was unfortunately temporarily lost in the void.**

 **~FFF**

 **P.S. the best present y'all can give me is reviews. y'all readers who don't really review, please say hi :C**


	81. Round Three Part One

**I am so tired this chapter is so long**

 **so um... I'm leaving on vacation Thursday morning, so I'm trying really hard to finish the final battle before I leave. The chapter is, so far, 21 pages long on paper. A typical chapter is 6 pages. So... I decided to split it in half. This is the first 11 pages.**

 **Review replies:**

 **The Mayor of Ninjago City: HI! Did you uhh... did you notice I named Gray's dead gf after your Emma?**

 **Entity: THANK YOU! And yes that's Emma.**

 **KitKat: He had a weird childhood xD**

 **Ms. Cipher: Give me the hecking cookies**

 **Ebony: Thank youuuuuu! :'D "and everything's fine", yeah, not for long :')**

 **Nicktastic: Hi!**

 **MNM: Oh mood.**

 **I apologize in advance.**

* * *

"I don't get it." Morro 2 muttered, his arms folded as he glared at the Preeminent and her army. "The Preeminent is _not_ this dumb. What the heck is she trying to do?"

"Maybe she's trying to bait out the trap by sending her army a little bit ahead?" Nicole suggested. "If she really got every single detail from Kai, she'll know that our water reserve is pretty much single-use."

"If she knows that much, she'll also know that we're manually setting it off, which we won't do lightly since we have one shot." Lloyd 1 shook his head. "No, she must have some other plan. I just... can't imagine what it might be."

"You and me both." Morro muttered. "Oh- she's stopping, I think." Indeed, the Preeminent was slowing and stopping, just outside where the trap was set. "****. She really does know every detail."

"Is she... sending her army in for another round?" Lloyd asked with a frown, noting the army still approaching. Clearly she had noticed that the first time she tried that, it didn't work out.

"I dunno. Should we break Gray's bridge?" Nicole asked, gesturing to the strangleweed bridge spamming the gap between Stiix and the mainland.

"Wait and see if they get close." Lloyd held up a hand in a 'wait' gesture. "If they do, we can have Kai 1 set it on fire."

"How will we keep it from spreading to the rest of Stiix? It's all pretty flammable." Morro asked with a frown.

"Zanes can keep it under control. Though, it might make more sense to just have the Zanes freeze and shatter it. I doubt strangleweed will burn well anyway." Lloyd shrugged. "Whatever, it's not important if they-"

"I just received a message from the Nyas!" Zane 2 yelled. "They're under attack! The Preeminent's army has converged on their position! They're holding them off for now, but they're quickly being overwhelmed. They need help!"

"I'm going." Lloyd said immediately, heading for the bridge.

"Me too." Morro followed, and so did Nicole.

"And me." The determined voice made Lloyd turn in surprise to see his double following him. When he noticed the others staring, he said simply, "They're my friends too."

"Alright." Lloyd shrugged. "Anyone else?"

"I'll go." His father called, running to catch up with him. "You might need a meat shield."

"Yeah." Lloyd grinned, more at the prospect of his father joining them than what he had said, and began to run towards the bridge again. "Hurry, everyone."

"Should we take the dragons?" Morro 2 yelled, following him.

"Yeah. Take Nicole on yours, everyone else has one." Without slowing down, Lloyd summoned his dragon ahead of him, swinging himself into the saddle and taking off towards where the others were waiting, a pocket of land dug by the Coles out of the cliff.

The flight over there took only about a minute, but to Lloyd it felt far longer. He could see the ghosts swarming down the side of the cliff, some slipping and falling into the sea but most making it to the ninja's hiding place. He could see sprays of water coming from the opening, the Nyas fighting back. Though they obviously hadn't been overwhelmed yet, Lloyd could see ghosts packing the entrance tunnel, clotting the passage as they threw themselves to their deaths at the hands of the water masters.

When he finally reached them, Lloyd dispelled his dragon and launched himself into the fray. He summoned a huge orb of energy as he landed, killing every ghost unlucky enough to be caught inside, then hurled it at the ghosts just entering the tunnel, either killing them instantly or forcing them off the cliff into the sea below. A spray of water hit him from behind, and he whirled around just in time to see a ghost's weapon disappear in a puff of smoke, and, beyond that, his friends, apparently safe and sound so far.

"Guys!" He yelled, hurrying to join them as the rest of the backup arrived. "What happened? They weren't supposed to know about this place!" His eyes then fell on Kai 2, who looked crestfallen, and he remembered. "Oh. Right."

"She- she tracked me here, or something..." The fire ninja stammered. "I don't know-"

"It's okay. We can hold them off." Lloyd interrupted as the others landed inside and began to fight the oncoming ghosts. "The Preeminent can't do anything to all of-"

Lloyd was cut off by an ear-shattering scream.

" _Bansha!_ " Morro 2 choked out, pressing his hands to his ears. Lloyd, doing the same, managed to look up and see Bansha outside, about fifty feet away, suspected with chains between two ghost dragons. Apparently she had gotten the same fate Morro would have if he had not been saved by the ninja when he failed the Preeminent.

Only Lloyd's father seemed to be unaffected. Invincibility really was handy.

When Bansha finally stopped shrieking, Lloyd cautiously uncovered his ears, opening his eyes just in time to see a small, black object bounce past him towards the water reserve. What was-?

"Get _down!_ " Lloyd's father tackled him to the ground, shielding his body with his own, and moments later an explosion rocked the tunnel. Lloyd heard screams, but from his position of squished between his father and the wall, he had no idea what was happening. After a moment, the older man moved back, and Lloyd looked up to see that, to his horror, a huge hole was blown in the side of the water reserve, and the water they had spent hours filling it with was draining out into the ocean.

The Coles and Kai looked unaffected, the blast had done nothing to them since they were ghosts, but both Nyas were on the ground, one unconscious and the other looking dazed. Neither looked like they were badly hurt, but this was no longer a safe place. Their main source of damage against the ghosts was gone.

"We need to get out of here!" Lloyd yelled, scrambling to his feet. "Coles, get the Nyas! Bring them back to Andreea, I don't know how badly they're hurt! Everyone else, just get back to Stiix as fast as possible!" The others began moving to obey immediately, Morro and Lloyd 2 working together to keep the ghosts from reaching the opening into the cave as the Coles, Kai, and Nicole helped get the Nyas onto the backs of the Coles' dragons. Once they were secured, the Coles took off, Morro and both Lloyds laying down cover fire for them as they escaped back to Stiix.

As soon as they were gone, the ghosts stopped coming.

"That's a _bad_ sign…" Morro 2 muttered, floating up to see why the flow of ghosts had stopped. "She's coming!" He yelped in alarm a moment later. "The Preeminent and her army are heading towards Stiix!" Lloyd hissed under his breath, trying not to curse. The Preeminent had obviously been trying to destroy their trap with the bomb, but had also managed to take out their water masters, and Lloyd wasn't sure when they would be back in action. She'd done a lot of damage.

Now she could just storm the city.

"Get back to Stiix, now!" Lloyd yelled, jumping off into midair and summoning his dragon. "We have to come up with something else!"

"That plan took us days to come up with!" Morro 2 protested, summoning his dragon and helping Nicole onto its' back. "How are we going to come up with something new in the half-hour it takes for her to get to us?!"

"I don't know. But we have to try!" As the others summoned their dragons and took off after him, Lloyd flew as fast as he could back towards Stiix.

At this point, giving up was not an option.

TheDarknessReturn

Morro didn't like this situation at all.

The wind master watched the Preeminent as she crossed their so carefully-laid trap, having rendered it useless with whatever explosive she had been able to procure. He had been, unfortunately, right. The Preeminent was too smart to run – or float – headlong into danger. And now their great plan had, almost literally, blown up in their faces.

Luckily, the Nyas weren't badly hurt. One was still unconscious, but was expected to wake up soon, and the other had a mild head injury that had been quickly healed by Andreea. Lloyd had been the closest the bomb when it exploded, but his father had protected him. They really _had_ needed a meat shield.

Lloyd was barking orders behind him, sending the ninja every which way to do damage control. He was staying remarkably calm, in that he wasn't freaking out. He sounded angry, but he seemed to have a pretty good handle on things.

The Preeminent's army was hanging behind her now, using her as something of a shield. What was her plan now? Just charge in and start breaking things? She was getting pretty close…

Abruptly, the city's foundation shook, and Morro looked up in surprise to see Gray's bridge sinking into the sea. Lloyd must have ordered it removed so the Preeminent couldn't just cross over. But… the Preeminent could just float across the gap. The ghosts could just float around her. It wouldn't do much to slow her down, but, something was better than nothing.

"Morro!" Morro jumped at the sound of his name being called, and turned to see Lloyd facing him. "Go find Maya. With Nya 2 down, we need her." The wind master nodded, hurrying off towards the base in search of Nya's mother.

After a minute of searching, Morro found her and her husband in one of the back rooms, their backs to the open door. After a couple seconds of debating how to announce his presence, he called out,

"Maya!" When she turned towards him, he continued. "They need you outside, the Preeminent's coming." The couple exchanged worried looks, then Maya nodded, hurrying out of the room. Morro started to follow her, but Ray's voice made him stop,

"Wait." And turn back to face the man. "I'm sorry, but who are you? You look so familiar, but I just can't out a name to your face." Morro hesitated, averting his eyes. He didn't know what his reaction would be to finding out who he really was, and if his relation to Kai affected it in any way, it would probably be bad. But, he'd find out either way eventually, and this way he could guarantee an escape route if things went south.

"I'm Morro." Ray's eyes widened, and he quickly went on. "Lloyd… Lloyd B, from the other timeline, got me to join your side. It's a long story." He was afraid the older man's silence was a precursor to a violent reaction, but instead Ray just slowly nodded his head.

"I see. You should rejoin the others." Morro nodded, relieved at not having to continue the conversation, and hurriedly left the room. Anyone that didn't trust him could easily be a danger.

The Preeminent had gotten alarmingly close in the two minutes Morro had been away.

The huge creature towered over the city, blocking out the moon and stars. The closer she got, the more obvious it became that they were hopelessly overwhelmed. Without the trap, what were they going to do?

"Morro!" Lloyd's voice made him tear his eyes away from the Preeminent. "Come join us. We have to keep the Preeminent busy."

"Busy?" Morro echoed, wandering towards him, his double, and a few others. "For what?"

"The fewer people who know, the better." Lloyd tapped his head, then gestured to the Preeminent. Right. Mind reading. But the fact that Lloyd had a plan at all lifted his spirits, and he stood next to him, staring up defiantly at the Preeminent.

He still nearly jumped out of his skin when the Preeminent's voice filled his head.

 _"A brilliant plan, really."_ The others stiffened – they heard her too. _"Let me take Ninjago City, make me think I've cornered you, then lure me here and kill me. It might have worked, too, if not for Kai."_ Lloyd's face hardened. _"Morro."_ He winced as he felt her focus on him. _"You look good. So healthy. New tan?"_

"Shut up." Morro snapped, trying to calm his pounding heart at the sound of her voice.

 _"You act so tough for being such a coward. Everyone knows how scared you are."_ She goaded, and Lloyd stole a glance at him.

"I don't care." Morro shot back. "The ninja- well, some of the ninja – they care about me. I don't need to pretend in front of them."

 _"If that's what you think."_ No smug answer for that, huh? _"Regardless, I will win this battle, and you will die. Enjoy your last few moments of being alive – and not being alone – because, as soon as you're in my hands, I'll change that."_ Morro bit his lip, glaring at her. Lloyd had a plan, right? He wouldn't let her kill him. _"It is not a matter of what Lloyd does or does not 'let' happen."_ Lloyd gave him a curious look. She was still talking to everyone. _"None of you can stop this."_ With that, she started to cross the gap.

As Morro predicted, her and a healthy number of ghosts could just float across the expanse between Stiix and the mainland. She also spit out a ghost every couple seconds, which would continue when she got to Stiix. With about thirty ghosts coming out of her a minute, the Preeminent's being a living portal would seriously tip the scales of the battle in her favor. This wasn't good at all.

"Nya, Maya!" Lloyd yelled, and the water masters ran to the front of the group, lifting up the ocean in a huge wall in front of Stiix. The Preeminent didn't seem to care. The ninja watched through the stretching, shifting wall of water as she floated towards them, closer, closer…

As soon as one of her tentacles touched the water, Kai 2 crumpled to the ground, screaming.

" _STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"_ Lloyd ordered as Kai's mother and sister dropped the wall of water, starting towards the fire ninja. "Keep the Preeminent back! That is our first priority!" Hesitantly, the two obeyed, lifting the ocean again. Once he was sure they were staying, Lloyd ran to Kai's side, who was gasping and shuddering on the ground.

"Kai, what's going on? What's wrong?" He demanded, but Kai couldn't seem to choke out a response. Unfortunately, Morro knew.

"She transfers damage done to her to any of her subjects." He explained as quickly as he could, running closer. "That's why she's so hard to kill. Look!" He pointed through the wall of water, where they could see pinpoints of green light falling from where they floated around the Preeminent into the sea. "Ordinarily, they die in a couple seconds, then they come back through the portal. Why isn't she killing Kai…?"

"Maybe so she can be a distraction?" Lloyd 2 yelled. "She's breaking through!" Lloyd's head jerked up from Kai's shuddering form to see more tentacles snaking through and over the wall of water, and his face fell.

"I'm sorry, Kai, we can't help you." He said quietly, clasping Kai's shoulder. "We have to fight her." Kai managed to give him a single nod, and Lloyd gave his shoulder a squeeze before standing up, plastering a cold look on his face, and running to rejoin the others. Morro gave Kai one more, sad, look before following.

The Preeminent didn't seem to be bothered at all by the water as she passed through Nya and Maya's wall. Many ghosts fell from around her, most vanishing in a puff of smoke before they hit the sea below. Morro also noticed them gathering at the top of the Preeminent's body – higher than the wall could reach. The ghosts were absorbing her damage, but they could still be externally killed, and water killed ghosts with little more than a touch, so-

"Lloyd!" Morro yelled. "Nya, Maya! We need to get the water higher! If we can kill all the ghosts at once, then we can do damage directly to the Preeminent!"

"Ah! Like a boss!" Nya exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "The ghosts are like a regenerating shield, and it's too strong to do damage to the boss health bar. We have to take out the shield first!" Her mother gave her a quizzical look, and she shrugged. "I play a lot of video games with Jay."

"Alright… but how are we going to get the water that high? It's a LONG way up, and we don't have enough power to lift the water and maintain a dragon at the same time." Maya protested, gesturing to the Preeminent towering over their wall.

"Then you can ride on someone else's dragons. Zanes!" Lloyd called, taking control. When the two nindroids got into earshot, the blond gave them a brief explanation of their plan, as well as taking one of the Zanes aside for a moment to whisper something in his ear, then the two summoned their dragons and the girls climbed on behind them. As they took off, the Preeminent whispered,

 _"That isn't going to work."_ Morro stiffened. _"Even if you do managed to take out my 'shield', you still do not possess enough power to damage me- assuming, of course, you can pull this off at all."_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, like we're gonna take your advice." Lloyd 2 yelled back at her. "What're you gonna do to stop us?"

 _"Wouldn't you like to know?"_ As she spoke, tentacles shot through the slowly-rising wall of water, trying to grab the Zanes' dragons. Though Nya shifted her attention to them, shooting water from her hands at the tentacles, it did nothing except send more ghosts falling into the sea. Fortunately, the Zanes seemed to be able to dodge them for now. The Preeminent was fast, but not fast enough to beat a computer's reflexes.

A flash of movement caught Morro's eye, and he spun around to see more tentacles slithering over the edge of the bridge. The others hadn't noticed yet, focused on the water masters struggling above them. One tentacle moved up behind Lloyd 2, poised to grab his ankle.

Morro didn't think. He just ran across the bridge, tackling Lloyd out of the Preeminent's path.

Morro caught the look of terror in Lloyd's eyes right before he hit him – he was still afraid of him. They still weren't on great terms, and him charging at him could definitely look like an attack. But Lloyd didn't attack him back, regardless of what he thought, and the two of them thudded to the ground.

Lloyd immediately started to struggle out from under him, but froze when he spotted the tentacle, apparently realizing what Morro had done, and the wind master pushed himself off, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the tentacle wasn't pursuing them yet. He didn't see anything, but as he turned back, something cold wrapped around his ankle, yanking him back, and Lloyd lunged to grab his hand to late. Too stunned to react in time, Morro was dragged off the bridge into the sea.

Morro half expected to disintegrate upon contact with the water, but, of course, he didn't. He wasn't a ghost. Still, this was really, really bad. The Preeminent had let go of him, but had dragged him a few feet under first. The churning water was tossing him back and forth, and his metal fingers were dragging him down.

And Morro couldn't swim. He was going to drown.

* * *

 **Remember last July when I went on vacation right after murdering Kai? Is this better or worse?**

 **I will TRY to finish the last chapter of the final battle before I leave, I swear. I'll try.**

 **~FFF**


	82. Round Three Part Two

**Aren't you glad I'm not leaving you on that cliffhanger for a week? haha**

 **review replies:**

 **Entity: Garmadon is the best boy.**

 **Rwbygirl: I didn't turn him human just so I could do this, I swear.**

 **Ms. Cipher: Yeah tbh. You remember GotG 2? She'd be like Mantis.**

 **Ebony: Yeah, the Preeminent sucks. I mean, kinda Reena's fault for getting Kai to reveal it to them. This would have gone so much better if not for her.**

 **KitKat: :3**

 **MNM: AINT THAT THE TRUTH**

 **Enjoy another 3300 words of this haha**

* * *

Nicole's hands flew to her mouth as her boyfriend was dragged into the ocean, eyes open wide. The tentacle emerged a second later – without him, of course – and the dream mistress rushed to the edge of the bridge to wait for him to come up. She only saw bubbles. It was a few moments before she came to the horrible conclusion that he wasn't going to come up, that he was hurt, or he couldn't swim, or-

Nicole barely heard Lloyd yelling her name as she jumped in after him.

She spotted Morro immediately, about five feet below her. His eyes were squeezed shut, and he was flailing wildly in the water, trying to find something to hold onto. Kicking her feet, Nicole swam down towards him, straining to grab his hand. When she finally reached it, grabbing his hand and squeezing as hard as she could, he squeezed back. He was okay, at least for now. But she had to get them up to the surface.

As she turned, trying to pull him back up, she immediately felt resistance. Was he stuck? It wasn't until she felt something cold and slimy coil around her ankle that she realized what – strangleweed.

Nicole was starting to panic. Even if she had the time to remove her earring, her powers were useless here. She couldn't manipulate murder seaweed! If she couldn't get up soon, _both_ of them were going to drown!

As she struggled against the strangleweed, which was slowly making its' way up her leg, Morro's hand began to go slack in hers. No, no! This couldn't be happening! She couldn't lose him!

A flash of light from above, blinding her, made her gasp, losing some of her precious air. But, as she struggled to see in the sudden brightness, a firm hand grabbed her wrist, yanking upwards with such force that both she and Morro were pulled out of the strangleweed's grasp, back up towards the bridge.

The moment she was pulled out of the water, all her attention was on Morro.

Nicole barely noticed Lloyd, landing his dragon next to her as he set her and Morro down on the bridge. Morro's eyes were closed, his face was tinged blue, and he wasn't moving. He definitely wasn't breathing.

Lloyd shoved her out of the way, barked, " _Get Andreea."_ And rolled Morro over onto his front, pounding on his back with his fist. Nicole didn't move. She could only watch, frozen. After a few, horrible seconds, Morro's body shuddered and he started to cough, vomiting out water onto the bridge.

 _"Morro!"_ Nicole's knees went weak and she collapsed, feeling faint both from almost drowning and Morro almost dying. He was alive.

"Nicole, I said-" Lloyd started, turning to her, but his eyes softened when they fell on her. She must look pretty pathetic. "Jay, get Andreea." He called instead. "Hurry." Nicole rubbed her eyes, willing her fuzzy vision to focus, then looked back up at Morro. He'd propped himself up on one arm now, his body shuddering violently from the force of his coughing. Lloyd put a hand on his shoulder, and Morro reached up to cover it with his hand – his left hand. Nicole noted his metal fingers laying limp, unresponsive. Broken?

"Morro?" She said again, and he looked up, his eyes shining with tears. Whether it was from the force of his coughing or from him being really upset, she didn't know, but it made tears spring to her eyes too.

" _I have to say, I'm impressed, Morro."_ Morro stiffened at the Preeminent's voice. _"I didn't think you had it in you to defend your worst enemy."_ Lloyd 2?

"He's- not- my worst enemy." Morro choke out. "You are."

 _"Oh, fine. But you still despise him. And don't lie, you know I can read your mind."_

" _You're_ lying." Morro snapped. "I know Lloyd can hear you. Everyone can. And I'm on his side now, of course I would defend him from _you._ " His arm holding him up began to tremble, and Lloyd pulled him back into his arms. "Just shut up. You're going to lose." He mumbled, closing his eyes.

 _"How confident of you."_ But Morro didn't answer, and she didn't say anything more.

A minute later, Andreea arrived.

"I've honestly gotten used to patching you up at this point." She said with a sigh upon spotting Morro, limp against Lloyd's chest, sopping wet and miserable. "You almost drowned?" Morro nodded a bit. "You're gonna be fine. The worst of it is over, okay?" Another nod. "Nicole, help me get him back to the base. He'll be safer there." Still dazed, Nicole nodded, getting to her feet as Lloyd helped Morro do the same. Andreea then wrapped an arm around his shoulders, leading him towards the base and motioning for Nicole to follow.

"You're being pretty nice." Nicole found herself saying as she obeyed. "Why? You don't like me."

"I just know how it feels to watch someone you love almost die." Andreea didn't meet her eyes, glancing over at Lloyd 2 instead. Oh. Now probably wasn't a good time to ask about that, since whatever incident she was referring to probably involved Morro as well.

Andreea lead the two of them back to the base – which Nicole could swear didn't always look so flimsy. Was she just worried, now that Morro had been in danger? That was probably it.

"I can't really make you feel better, I can't heal the aftereffects of a lack of air. The best you can do is get dried off and get some rest, both of you." The diamond master instructed them, leading them to Lloyd A and Morro B's room. She lowered Morro down onto his bed, Nicole sinking to the floor next to it, then left the room. The moment she was gone, Nicole scrambled to her feet, nearly tackling Morro to the bed as she hugged him tight.

"I was so _scared._ " She gasped into his shoulder as he wrapped one arm around her. "I was gonna _lose you._ You were drowning, and you weren't breathing, and you were _blue_ , and-"

"Nicole, Nicole, hey." Morro cut her off, patting her back gently. "It's okay. I'm gonna be fine."

"But you could have _died!_ We could have _both died,_ if Lloyd hadn't come and saved us!"

"But he did come and save us, and we're going to be fine."

"But we- if he- but-"

"Nicole. Stop." Morro put his working hand on her shoulder, pushing her back so he could look into her eyes. "There's no point on getting all worked up. It's over. Breathe." Nicole took a deep breath, then let it out in a nervous giggle.

"'Breathe'. That's funny, cause we just almost drowned." She felt tears well up in her eyes again, and Morro sighed, pulling her close again and lying back on the bed.

"Andreea said we should rest, so just... rest." Nicole closed her eyes, and rested her cheek on his chest with a sigh.

"Okay."

TheDarknessReturn

Morro 2 and Nicole almost drowning had rattled Lloyd way more than he liked to let on.

Lloyd tried to keep his focus on the Preeminent, on the water masters' rising wall of water, but he kept seeing Morro's pale face, his still body, whenever he blinked. He had to focus on their job, he had a world to save. But trying to be a good leader was a lot harder than it looked.

Good leaders were supposed to care about the greater good. About the Realm, the Universe. They were supposed to put the greater good over the lives of their friends. Lloyd was really bad at that. Since arriving in this dimension, he'd recklessly gone after his friends in danger at _least_ twice, one time being forced to stay and physically attacking those who restrained him. Though it felt like everyone had forgotten about it at this point, Lloyd still regretted it, and was determined to make up for it by being a better leader.

Unfortunately, if this kept up, he was going to fail miserably.

He was trying _really_ hard to keep his focus on beating the Preeminent, but Kai 2, shaking on the ground behind him, and Morro 2 and Nicole, half drowned and hiding in the base, were making it really hard. He wanted nothing more than to run and try to comfort Kai, or stay with Morro to defend him, but he had to stay put. He had to run things. Had to keep things under control.

 _"And you're doing a wonderful job of it, believe me."_ Lloyd bristled at the Preeminent's patronizing voice in his head.

"Shut up."

 _"That's not very polite."_ Lloyd ignored her. Maybe if he didn't answer, she would go away. _"I wouldn't hold your breath."_ Couldn't Nya and her mom move any faster? The Preeminent was partway through the wall of water, and though ghosts were falling from around her left and right, she didn't even slow in her progress. Apparently, she had a lot of faith in her shield. Why she was so confident, anyway? She must know how easily the water masters could kill her ghosts.

 _"Maybe I just don't care."_ Lloyd groaned.

"Don't you have _anything_ better to do than bother me?"

 _"Regrettably, no."_

"Ugh." Lloyd crossed his arms and glared up at her, having to crane his neck to see her eye with how big she was. Not that he really probably should put the effort into it, she was so ugly it was probably better to look away. _"Did your mother never teach you how to treat a lady?"_

"You are _not_ a lady, first of all. Second, I grew up in a boarding school, so, no."

 _"How tragic."_ Lloyd wished he had the self-control to just ignore her. Nya and her mom were getting kinda close, anyway. Hopefully this would be over soon. _"You don't really think they can do it, do you? I have too big of an army."_

"Numbers don't matter. My group is more skilled." He retorted.

 _"Oh? My army contains thousands of elite fighters, including elemental masters."_

"None of them are from my team."

 _"I'm sure you're very proud of them."_

"You're right, I am."

 _"Still, you don't seem to have a very good handle on some of them. Take Indigo, for example. Very impulsive, reckless-"_

"Leave Indigo out of this." Lloyd snapped.

 _"She tried to_ kidnap _you? That's_ fascinating _."_

"Cut it out!"

 _"You love her… almost like a daughter. That's hilarious, really, considering your history."_ Lloyd huffed and covered his ears. A pointless gesture, since she was a telepath, but it made him feel a bit better.

 _"Oops."_ 'Oops'? Lloyd looked up, then dropped his hands to his sides, scrambling to summon his dragon as he registered Zane 2 and Maya falling from the sky, Zane's dragon vanishing in the grip of one of the Preeminent's tentacles. Stupid, he let her distract him! He heard her nagging voice in his head again, but he paid her no heed, catching first Maya, maneuvering his dragon so she would land behind him on the saddle, then grabbing Zane as he flew past.

"Get me back up there!" Maya yelled to him as he started heading down to the ground. "I have to help my daughter!" Lloyd nodded, swooping down to the ground and setting down Zane before taking his position alongside Nya. The wall of water was almost high enough, they just have to hold on for a few more minutes.

Screams began to echo from the city.

Lloyd's head jerked back to look over his shoulder, and his heart sank. It was too late. The Preeminent was already reaching into the city, grabbing buildings, support poles, anything in her path, and just tearing them down. The others were trying to hold her back, but water had no effect on the tentacles, and those that were cut with deepstone just grew back – usually into two. All they could do was slow her down, Lloyd needed to take her out.

Charging an orb of energy, Lloyd hurled it at the Preeminent's eye. She didn't stop, but it got her attention.

 _"What? Did you think that would hurt?"_

"I kinda hoped it would." Lloyd threw another one. Maybe he could use the same tactic on her that she used on him.

 _"Doubtful, since I can read minds."_ Rats. Whatever. He threw another one. _"You're only going to wear yourself out."_

"You talk too much." Lloyd looked over his shoulder at Maya, who nodded, then glanced over to make eye contact with Nya. She nodded too, then leaned closer to Zane to say something to him.

The Preeminent read his mind too late.

Tightening his grip on the reins, Lloyd shot upward, Maya holding on tight to him with one hand and lifting the wall with the other. Zane followed him up, Nya and Maya lifting a huge chunk of the wall of water with them as they rose. Once they were over the Preeminent, the water masters moved the chunk of water over the Preeminent, flattened it out like an umbrella, then dropped it.

There was a sort of collective scream from the ghosts as they all died.

The Preeminent stopped short, and started backing up, but she moved too slowly. She was slowly regenerating her shield, but the ghosts died as soon as they emerged from the portal, leaving her vulnerable again. Swooping back towards the ground, Lloyd and Zane got close enough to the ocean for the water masters to raise it up underneath her. This time, when the water made contact with her, Lloyd felt a sudden feeling of just _rage_. The Preeminent wasn't speaking, and with no face she had no expression, but apparently she could make her emotions clear without it.

 _"Do you really think you can kill me?"_ She hissed in his head. _"You might be able to damage me now, but I am still too strong. Even without my shield."_

"We'll see." Lloyd muttered as she started heading back towards the mainland. "Nya, Maya, go get in position. Go!" Maya jumped off her dragon, summoning her own and flying past the Preeminent towards the mainland with Nya trailing behind her. Lloyd started back towards the ground, but a tentacle yanked him off his dragon's back, lifting him up to the Preeminent's eye. Oh, not this again-!

 _"Impertinent boy!"_ She snarled. _"We'll see if your ninja can fight without their oh-so-precious leader."_ She began to lift him towards the portal, but this time he was ready. Lloyd charged an orb of energy around him, forcing the tentacle to let go, and he dropped towards the ocean, summoning his dragon again and dodging a tentacle grabbing at him. He just had to keep her attention on him…

 _"This isn't over."_ She hissed, and he had the uncomfortable sensation of her leaning close to him to whisper in his ear. _"Even if I am forced to retreat, I can just come back. You cannot save Ninjago."_ Lloyd didn't answer, focusing on dodging her attacks. _"Oh, before I forget, I killed Kai."_ Lloyd's eyes widened, then narrowed. It was probably a trick to distract him. _"Good thought, but I'm serious. I did kill him. When you killed the rest of my army, I was forced to transfer damage to him. He's dead."_ Didn't matter. Once they killed her, they could get him back. _"And what makes you think you can kill me?"_

"Hope." He replied, finally speaking. Apparently this was his undoing, as he finally slipped up and a tentacle caught him around the middle. She immediately began to squeeze him, the tentacle constricting around him and pinning his arms to his sides. He couldn't use his powers-!

 _"I'll crush you like an insect."_ She growled. If someone didn't stop her, she would. Lloyd was struggling, trying to fight back, but she was too strong. Was this where he was going to die?

"LET GO OF HIM!" A dragon smashed headfirst into a tentacle holding him, and he slipped free, plummeting towards the sea. Before he could move to summon his dragon, wind roared around him, and he looked up to see Morro 1 flying down towards him. Lloyd's face broke into a grin. Morro wouldn't let him die.

The wind master set him safely on one of the bridges, then landed next to him. The Preeminent had moved too far away to reach them anymore, apparently fleeing. Good riddance.

"Zane, get ready!" Lloyd yelled, watching as the Preeminent steadily approached the mainland. She'd given up. It was all on Nya and her mom, now.

TheDarknessReturn

Morro A stumbled out of the base to see the Preeminent running away.

"What in the world…?" He muttered, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight. "How?"

"I am impressed." Nicole admitted from behind him. "He didn't kill her, but he scared her off." Despite Andreea's orders for them to rest, the pair had been too tense to sleep, and had ended up getting up again after about ten minutes. When they came out, they found, to their amazement, Lloyd had _beat_ the Preeminent. Her cloud of ghosts spinning around her was considerably smaller now, Lloyd must have managed to kill them all off.

"Morro! Nicole!" Lloyd had apparently noticed them, and Morro looked over to see him grinning and waving. Evidently his plan was working perfectly. "Good to see you up! I'm glad you're okay!"

"Thanks to you, yeah." Morro gave him a weak smile, starting towards him. "What happened while I was gone?"

"Quite a bit. I'll tell you in a minute. Just watch." Morro frowned, but obeyed, Nicole coming up beside him and taking his hand. Together, they watched as the Preeminent finished crossed the ocean gap and started over the mainland, back towards the desert. Abruptly, Lloyd whirled around and yelled,

"Zane, cue the Nyas! NOW!" The nindroid pressed a hand to his ear, and, barely a second later, dozens of jets of water shot out of the ground.

Right underneath the Preeminent.

 _Half an hour earlier,_

 _"Coles, I need you to repair the reservoir. We need to get the trap operational again." Lloyd ordered. "Once the Nyas are finished defending here, I'll send them to refill it."_

 _"But- but won't she just keep attacking Stiix?" Cole 2 protested. "How can we make her go back?"_

 _"I have Maya. I'll force her back somehow, get her to flee. Now go! And whatever you do,_ don't _tip her off. Count to a thousand, sing the alphabet song in your head, do_ something _to keep from thinking about it. She can only read surface thoughts, don't let her find out. Understood?" The Coles nodded. "Good. Go!" Obediently, the Coles summoned their dragons and flew away. Letting out a breath, Lloyd stared up at the hulking form of the Preeminent, towering over the city. Now he just had to figure out how to make her flee._

 _Present,_

As Morro watched with stunned awe, the jets of water cut straight through the Preeminent, some continuing out through the top of her. He could see the remains of her ghost 'shield' disappearing like popping bubbles, and she began to fade away, her body disappearing into nothing. When the fading got to the portal, the rest of her vanished in a flash. Morro could swear he saw a female body hanging in the air for a split second before she died.

For nearly a minute, there was silence. Then, wild cheering broke out from the city behind them.

Morro dropped to his knees in shock as the first rays of sunrise peeked over the horizon, staring blankly at where the Preeminent used to be. Was she… dead?

"MORRO!" Lloyd fairly tackled him to the ground, hugging him tight. "We did it! We BEAT her!"

"We did?" Morro asked, still trying to register what had happened.

"YES!" Lloyd squeezed him tight, laughing, and Morro's face slowly broke into a grin.

"We did it." The wind master hugged him back, burying his face in his shoulder. "We did it."

"We did do it." Lloyd agreed.

"We won."

* * *

 **Not the end quite yet! I've got a few loose ends to wrap up. But this is a decent ending for me to leave it on while I go on vacation, eh?**

 **I hope you've enjoyed the final battle!**

 **~FFF**


	83. Epilogue

**I... ended up writing the last chapter last night, so... here. Before I go.**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ms. Cipher: I killed Karen :')**

 **Rwbygirl: Best meme.**

 **Ebony: Oh yeah, Reena... I forgot about her... and that's the Preeminent. Her human form, before she turned herself into... that.**

* * *

The Preeminent was dead, but the ninja's job wasn't over yet.

Most of the ghosts in Ninjago were dead, as the Preeminent had amassed a huge number of her subjects for the battle, but some struggles still remained. The ninja spent weeks travelling from town to town, purging any of the Preeminent's subjects in each one and helping rebuild.

Structural damage wasn't the only damage done to Ninjago. The people had been beaten down for so long that most towns struggled to get a basic leadership system started without the ghosts ordering them around. As such, Lloyd 1 ended up overseeing a lot of work done in each town before they were able to move onto the next.

Though it should have been obvious from the significantly fewer ghosts and the world no longer being tinted green, everywhere they went the people were shocked at the news that the Preeminent was dead. Except Ninjago city. As soon as they had walked through the gates, they had been treated as heroes. Though, with all the technology in the city, it wasn't a huge shock that the news had travelled this far.

The people had appropriated Morro's empty castle for their own use after Reena had left with the Preeminent, but they offered it to the ninja for their lodging when they arrived, something along the lines of 'only the finest for the saviors of Ninjago'.

It was there that Morro 2 approached Lloyd about his plan.

"Lloyd?" The blond tore his attention from a suit of armor that didn't _quite_ match the others in the hallway, looking over his shoulder to see Morro approaching him slowly. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure. What's up?" Lloyd turned to face him, but Morro didn't meet his eyes.

"I want to… well…" he twisted his hands together. "Remember when we talked about all the timelines that had bad endings, with all the other decisions we've made? How there's all those people who are suffering more than we ever have?" Raising an eyebrow, Lloyd nodded. Where was he going with this? "I want to help them." Morro finished, finally looking up at him. Lloyd blinked.

"How?"

"Well, you got here somehow, right? With Traveler's Tea, I think. What if I took the Realm Crystal, and between two Jays and two Nyas," Lloyd noticed him flexing his now fixed – and waterproof – metal fingers. "I'm sure they could make some sort of modification that lets me hop timelines as many times as I want. I'd be free to help so many people!" He looked down, smiling. "And… I'd be able to visit you whenever I liked." Lloyd smiled back. That _was_ a perk.

"But what about Nicole?" He asked, his face growing serious. "Won't she miss you?"

"Well, I was gonna… ask her to come with me." He shrugged. "I figure she'd kill me if I tried to go off without her." Lloyd laughed.

"Fair enough. Okay, I'll talk to them about it. But you'll have to wait until our group gets sent home okay? We kinda need the Realm Crystal for our return trip." Morro nodded.

"Of course. I'd want to see you off anyway."

"Alright. Great." Morro straightened up, moving to walk away, but Lloyd stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Wait. Be careful out there, okay?" Morro smiled.

"Okay."

TheDarknessReturn

It was another full month before the ninja could go home.

Some towns and villages were thrown into such chaos and confusion by the Preeminent's death that they actually started to fight each other, and the ninja were forced to sort out a few nasty arguments. The worst of it, though, was going into the Cursed Realm and finding _every_ ghost who was wrongfully imprisoned and bringing them back to their families, Kai 2 among them, who had a tearful and apology-filled reunion with his parents and sister.

Unfortunately, Reena appeared to have died in the last battle with the Preeminent, and was now nowhere to be found.

They had also kidnapped Clouse and set him to work trying to replicate the spell that had turned Morro human, for the purpose of bringing Simon and all the other innocents back to life. So far, he had failed every time, but the innocents were immortal, they had all the time in the world to figure it out.

Finally, the day came for the #1 ninja to return to their Realm.

The Nyas and Jays had successfully created Morro 2's timeline-hopping device, and they planned to test it out by sending the ninja home. The goodbyes took nearly an hour – even if most of them were doubles, they had still become good friends. But, finally, they had all the returning ninja on one side of Morro's old throne room, and Morro 2 activated the device. A swirling, red portal appeared in the center of the room, and the group began to file through, Lloyd herding them in so he would be the last one to pass through. Finally, when all the others were gone, he turned to Morro 2 and called,

"Be safe! And if you ever need help, you know where to find us!" Morro smiled and nodded, and Lloyd waved to them all one last time before disappearing into the portal.

TheDarknessReturn

Lloyd was unceremoniously dumped out of the portal and onto the ground.

"Oh, nice of you to show up." The blond lifted his head from the dirt to see Morro clicking his tongue at him. "Was starting to think you weren't coming."

"Oh shut up and help me up." Lloyd reached up a hand, and Morro rolled his eyes and pulled him to his feet. "Thanks. Where are we?"

"According to my map of the area, not far from the monastery." Zane reported, observing the sunset on the far hill.

"Really?" Kai frowned. "It looks… different. We're not in the wrong dimension, are we?"

"GUYS!" A yell caught their attention, and the group turned to see a young man sprinting up the hill towards them, skidding to a stop and gasping for breath. "Guys! Thank goodness you're back! Terrible things are happening!" The ninja exchanged glances.

"Have we met?" Jay asked after a moment. The young man slapped his forehead with his palm.

"Right, sorry. I'm Tellen." The ninja stared.

"Tellen's a kid." Jessica pointed out after a few moments.

"No, no, this is one of the terrible things! There are these brothers named Crunch and Aatrox who are controlling time and amassing a snake army to take over the world! You gotta help!" And the young man ran off again. Cole sighed.

"Never a dull moment around here, huh?"

"How are we supposed to get married with all this nonsense going on?" Indigo crossed her arms, and Morro laughed and tousled her hair.

"We'll figure it out."

"So? What are we standing around here for?" Kai tapped his foot impatiently. "We've got another world to save!"

"Yeah!" Jay cheered. "Let's go! Ninja never back down from a challenge!" With that, Kai and Jay started off down the hill after Tellen. Morro leaned down, swooped up his fiancé in his arms, kissed her cheek, then followed. As the rest of the group trickled after them, Jessica sidled up beside Lloyd and took his hand, smiling up at him. Lloyd smiled back, then, as he started down the hill, raised his hand and his voice and yelled,

"Ninja _never_ quit!"

The End

* * *

 **It's... over.**

 **2 years, 9 months, and 24 days ago, I posted the first chapter of Return to the Cursed Realm. And I am being completely serious when I say that I owe it to YOU, my READERS, for getting me this far. If I hadn't gotten the attention I did when I first started, I wouldn't have made it halfway through the first book. And all my other fics, Ninjago related or otherwise, would not exist. I would have lost interest. I wouldn't have discovered my _passion._**

 **Yeah, I don't know about you guys, but I'm _not_ crying.**

 **I just... thank you all, so much, for getting me this far.**

 **~FFF**


	84. quick note

**P.S. I will be writing more oneshots. And maybe another short story. But for now, send me some AUs you want to see Morro 2 and Nicole visit :3**

 **~FFF**


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